Superior awardage...

Okay, I was awarded this fantastic award from Lynn over at S3xinthepantry... so Thank you Lynn!

Here are the rules for the Superior Scribbler:

•Each Superior Scribbler must pass The Award on to 5 Bloggy Friends.

• Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

• Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog.

• Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blogI'm passing this along to the following Superior Scribblers:

DC Urban Dad

FoF

Ihavetowipehiswhat

Seattle Dad

The Busy Dad

Congrats gentlemen! Your turn... pass it on!

Are you the Gate Keeper?

Or the Key Master?

Okay, I couldn't resist...

It is my own fault, I know this, I provked and actually led to it.
What am I talking about, you ask?

Our son can climb the stairs... I do not just mean he can get his leg up on one step... ut uh... the boy can scale the whole stair case on his own. We, of course, stay behind for support just in case he were to miss a "step," but our little man rocks. If we aren't careful he may be rock climbing soon... or maybe splunking!

I, for about a month, have been practicing with MJ showing and helping him make it up the stairs... who knew he could catch on so quick!?

Walking? Nawh, he hasn't got the grasp on that yet... he tends to stand on his tip-toes. Not sure when this goes out of style for babies, but lets all hope soon.

We have started the more hardcore baby proofing... I mean we first put out all the plug-in covers and the padded gummy covers on the fireplace, we have taken things out of reach, but I have put off putting up the dredded "GATE."

So, this weekend, Sunday to be exact, will be the dredded day where our home becomes more structured and confined...

Don't get me wrong, I know we need a gate, I expected the gate... but I wasn't sure I, uhhmm he was ready for it until we caught him acting like he was from the Jefferson's... "Movin' on up!"

Although, in place of the deluxe apartment is the upstairs landing... which at the moment house a couple of large holiday nutcrackers.

I'll keep ya posted on the installation of said "gates!"

Here we go again...

Alright, I want to first apologize for being so MIA and non-blogger like. I admit I have had a lot going on... I mean, I got it goin' on.

Let me just spill the beans right here, right now and get it over with. No need to go into the "I've got some major news to tell," or make you play the "Guess what" game.

We are now officially expecting... expecting what you ask? Expecting to not go out as much anymore, expecting to not go on our 2 year anniversary trip to the Bahamas and most certainly not expecting the be sleeping well in about, oh seven months.

Okay, maybe I am being just a bit alusive, but comon' it's kinda lame to just be like...

"My wife's pregnant, again!"

We discovered this about this time last week.

Let me set the scene for you.... about how we found out I mean, not the conception. I mean seriously you thought I was gonna give you THAT kind of detail.

My wife was home from work on this sunny, or was it rainy, Tuesday afternoon around 11 AM. She had just picked up our son from Daycare because she had decided to run some errands sans 7 1/2 month old. Earlier that morning I was woken up by the sounds of puking, ralphing, food being regur... okay you get the point.

"I just can't shake this," my wife, Laura, says while embracing the white, porcelin bowl.

"I guess it is just all that drainage from your sinuses," I replied.

My wife had been throwing up off and on for about three weeks and we had just assumed it was sinus drainage. (Looking back we are so stupid.)

While I was on my way to take our son, Mauldin, to daycare I called Laura on the phone.

"Why don't you stop and pick up a pregnancy test while you are out," I suggested.

"Okay, if you think I should," she said.

"I think you should," I insisted.

Fast forward to 10:30 AM, I get a phone call from Laura.

"What are you doing for lunch today?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know, I haven't thought about it, why? You want me to come have lunch with you?"

"Yes."

I kinda played around with her for a bit on my phone on my way. I decided not to call her until I was atleast down our road.

I recieve a text saying: "Where are you?"

I proceed to dial our home number...

"I am sorry, I just left the office," I lied.

"Awh, okay, I really wish you were home," Laura said.

"Me too!"

I was actually just 2 minutes down the road and finally as I round the corner to our house I say well, I will let you go, I should be home in about 10 minutes, as I hit the garage door opener. She doesn't even notice the noise as I pull up to the house.

"Laura," I said.

"What?"

"I'm home!" I said "See you..." I see her at the door, she has a smile on her face from ear to ear.

I proceeded to push end on my phone and place it in my pocket and shut the door to my dirty, black Honda accord.

I walk inside and she gives me a huge hug.

I can tell something good is about to happen. She had surprise-face. I am assuming she made me lunch and a nice, yummy sandwich and a glass of tea would be waiting for me at the table. (It apparently doesn't take a lot to get me excited these days.)

I walk over to the table and instead of a sandwich I am handed a positive pregnancy test. I look up at Laura and she has smile and tears in her eyes.

"I'm pregnant."

I hugged her tight as I could and laughed.

"So this was my surprise?" I asked.

"Yeah! What do you think?" Laura said.

"I dunno! A Publix sub!" I said... "I'm in shock, I'm elated, I'm excited, what about you?"

"I'm still in shock too."

"Well, I guess we aren't getting a TV for Christmas anymore, huh?" I said.

"Nope, I guess we need to cancel our trip to Sandals," she continued. "Yep, so we are gonna be parents, again!"

We stood there and just starred at the pregnany test and the only thing I could say is...

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she replied. "I took two! I'm sooooo pregnant, surprise~!"

We both look over at Mauldin in his "saucer" and say "you're gonna be a big brother, what do you think about that?"

He proceeded to let out a huge rasberry.

"I think that is how my mom is going to react," I said.

So, here we go again. We are about to embark on the adventure of parenthood, again. I guess I should now change the blog description, how does this sound?

My wife and I got married and found out we were pregnant shortly after one month of marital bliss! Then we found out we were expecting again after our son was only 7 months old. Read on to find out our trials and tribulations for a couple who are taking on the epic quest of parenthood with two kids only 15 months apart!

We are due June 25th - Excitment abounds!

Textless Tuesday

Probably won't win father of the year!

Our strong lil' man...

Six and 1/2 months ago if you would of told me my son would already be highly mobile I would of laughed.

My child, at his last doctor's appointment, was 13 lbs and some change. That is smaller than some kids are born! But, he is a strong lil booger! Our little dude is already pulling up on things and wobbling around on his toes... with some assistance, of course. He moves really fast... we have to keep an extra special eye on him or he will run into another room! Okay not run, but... well, scramble on all fours.

My wife, Laura, made a bet with me, not sure of the stakes yet, but made a bet that he would be walking by nine months at the rate he is going.

Stay tuned!

Have you ever been to the ER with a child?

Have you ever been to an Emergency Room with a child?

Now you may be wondering "why were you in the ER?" Well, we went on Sunday afternoon to pick out pumpkins, have a fun day with family and enjoy a nice, crispy fall day. On the way home our little man was uncharacteristically pissy. He basically whined and cried almost the entire way home. We chalked it up to he was not happy to be in his car seat for the hour 1/2 ride home.

We come home and Mauldin seems to be really hot and on this 60 degree day there is no real reason for him to be hot to the touch. My brilliant and intuitive wife insists we take his temperature.

102 degree temp. I look at her and say,

"don't freak out!" knowing good and well she was well into the freakage zone.

"This isn't a teething temperature," said Laura.

"Lets give him some Tylenol and put him in a cool bath, that might help!"

So, I proceed to do this as we know this is what any doctor may first suggest, not to mention any parent we contact as well. After his splish splashy bath time I take him out and we take his temperature again, knowing that the Tylenol should of kicked in a little.

103.3. I look at Laura's face, and she is on the verge of tears.

"I'm gonna call the doctor on call and see what they say to do," insisted Laura.

Mind you, our soon-to-be three year old niece, Annagrace, has been sick since Saturday, however, Mauldin has had no contact with her. We know that Annagrace was on her way to "Children's" a local Pediatrics doctor office in Atlanta and the wait to get in to see a doctor is 3 hours!

While Laura is calling the doctor on-call - I proceed to call "Children's" to see about making an appointment.

I hear Laura downstairs, "Thank you. Yes, 103.3. 03/21/2009. Oh, okay. Thank you."

I hang up the phone with the very unhelpful nurse at Children's who was in mid- I'm sorry because they had no more spots. The best thing she could say was to walk in and wait the 3 hours.

"What did they say?" I say to Laura as I am 1/2 down the stairs.

I see Laura packing Mauldin's diaper bag and proceeds to strip off his onesie.

"The nurse on the phone said we need to take him to the ER," said Laura. "With a temp that high they want us to have him seen ASAP."

"Okay." I reply.

As I drive us to the ER my stomach is in knots and I am reminded of the stress level that I have before I speak in public or before my first date with Laura. My head was pounding, my hands were sweating as I gripped the steering wheel and the soothing sounds of Jordin Sparks and her "Battlefield" were not all that soothing or comforting so I proceeded to turn off the radio completely.

We finally arrive at the hospital, after what seemed like a million years in the car, and park in the parking garage across the street... apparently we aren't the only one's with an emergency this evening.



Dude, it's so ghetto... okay now I may get some flack for saying this, but in the case of the one we went to on Sunday night... I feel I am pretty accurate in my description.

As we are walking through the parking lot I look over at Laura as she has Mauldin curled up in her embrace. Mauldin's tiny arms and legs are bare to the elements and I start to wonder how is this going to make him better?

"I feel like such trash!" I say to Laura.

"What? Why?" Laura replies with a bit of laughter.

"Here we are walking into the ER with our child in a freaking diaper! How trashy are we? I mean who does that???"

As I say these words I look over to my right and there stands a tall, black man; with his girlfriend. The man is wearing a long trench coat reminiscent of something Morpheus from the Matrix would fashion. One can only imagine why he was there...

I look at Laura... "Okay, I don't feel so bad anymore... I may blog about this!"

After entering the pediatrics ward of the ER Laura goes on to sit with Mauldin as I fill out all the necessary paperwork. I felt so odd doing this because in filling out this paper work I am admitting my child is sick, so sick that we had no alternative choice but to bring him to the ER, the ER where people come when they chop off their limbs or break their arm while playing flag football. We are here in the ER exposing our defenseless and helpless 6-month old son to who knows what... Right then and there I felt like a terrible, terrible parent.

Our little guy was/is such a trooper, he is usually bouncin' around like Tigger, but this particular day he was more like a gloomy Eeyore.

His stuffy, "oh so stuffy," nose is just red and raw. He hates it when you try to wipe it.

Well, after finally meeting with the doctor, one urine sample, complete with catheter and x-rays they determined he was infected with the "flu." We were given a Rx for Theraflu, I believe, I think that is what it is called... and I won't get into the nightmare it was to obtain this medication. Have to make it... comon', seriously?

To top it off, my beautiful and selfless wife, Laura, has caught it as well... So, get well soon baby! I'm sorry you were the one to catch it.

I love you both.

Say Da-da, please!

My son likes to crawl and roll... he is very mobile and can move from one side of the room to another in under 60 seconds. Hey, he is six months old and to someone who has never had a child before - this is pretty darn impressive.

However impressed I am I have to admit I am slightly saddened that my child doesn't or hasn't said "dada" or "ma ma" yet.

"Mauldin, saaaaay da-da!"

"pbbsssthhhhht"

Yes, if you can pronounce that, that is what our offspring can "say." My wife, Laura, and I think he knows how to say it because he produces a coy smile after we ask him to say our names. I guess he will say it when we are having a bad day and it will make "Mama and Dada" feel all better!

Halloween is upon us and so we took last weekend, after coming home from Disney World, to get the house in order for this epic and spooky holiday. Skeletons have been put up, door mats have been placed and soon pumpkins of all shapes and sizes will litter the Skates household.

We have a couple of choices for Mauldin for his first official Halloween: Winne-the-Pooh and a not-so-scaley dragon. I'm sure we will put him in one and the other will serve as a back up for when he spits up, wets or excuse the pun, POO's...

So, maybe between now and Halloween we can get him to say some sort of verse that will match "Trick or Treat!" Although, I would be equally as happy to hear - "Da da!"

For now, "Pbbsssthhhhht" it is! Maybe it's his form of Aloha...

Textless Tuesday

Why is sand so scratchy?

I pooped my britches this morning, big time!

It was so bad Daddy yelled for Mommy to help him change my diaper. Yes, it was THAT bad. What can I say... I can make quite a stink.

So, we've been busy... last weekend Mommy and Daddy put me in the car for a lonnnnng trip to the beach, now this wasn't just a trip because this was my first trip to the beach. We got to spend time with Mamaw, Papaw, Aunt Mandy, Uncle Kelly, Everett & Nanu. I throughly enjoyed myself. Sand is kind of scratchy though, I will say. But, the ocean tastes funny... I still had fun... I really wanted to help in making the sand castle, but my sand castle making skills need perfecting. I'll work on it for next year!

This weekend is a busy one too!

Mommy is going shopping with Aunt Amy, Aunt Jenn and Nana and I get to stay home and spend some quality time with my Daddy. I can't wait!!! Later we will be going to see Nana & Papa and celebrate Nana's birthday!

Oh, and I can't forget... NEXT weekend we will be going to see Mickey Mouse's Club House... or is it just Mickey's House? I'm not sure... I sometimes get those confused. Nonetheless... I'm a little excited!

When does a child know their name?

It is just a shock... like wow! My child's brain works!

It was inevitable and I knew it would happen, but for it to happen in such a short amount of time is just surprising to me.
MJ has learned his name. It is actually pretty adorable... amazing, exciting, cool and just plain elementary, but as a parent... it's well... wonderful!

I noticed it on Monday morning. I woke up to the sound of my wife opening the bedroom door from the hallway on her way to the bathroom to take a shower. She had MJ in her arms and he was wearing a six-month old onesie which we had no idea he had grown into.

"I had to do it," said Laura.

"what?" I asked while rubbing my eyes with a sleepy tone in my voice.

"I had to open the next drawer.." she replied. "He is getting so big I didn't even notice his three months onesies were too small now!"

In MJ's nursery we have drawers under his changing table where we keep the bulk of his clothes. In the top drawer there are 3-6 month onesies and below that, in the second drawer are his 6-9 month onesies and t-shirts... and in the third drawer from the top are his shorts, pants and swim suits. Now granted until this past week he could still wear newborn shorts but now has graduated to 3 months.

"Noooooo.." I said with a gasp.

"Yep.." said Laura, "it's so sad."

First our little boy does not have to be swaddled, now he is growing into 6 months clothes and he is only 5 months old! This is so wrong!

Back to what I was saying... MJ has learned his name. Laura slide him down into his little jeep, where we put him while we try and get ready to go to work... it keeps him occupied long enough for "My Friend's Tigger & Pooh" to come on the Disney Channel... his favorite show.

Laura rolls the car across the wooden bedroom floor and you can hear a combination of beeps and car gears as his pushes each button on the quasi mobile toy.

"Good morning, Mauldin!" I said to him, and to my amazement, he turned his head... he looked right at me! Like "what up pops?"

I wasn't sure if he just heard my voice and turned so he went back to playing with the various buttons and acting as if he were driving his jeep.

I said it again, "Mauldin!" He jerked his head around in my direction.... I couldn't believe it! Laura smiled from ear to ear... Our little man is growing up... he knows his name...

Now if he would only learn to say mine... "Daddy," that will be even better!

I'm not too picky...I would accept "Da-da" too!

When do you fold?

No, I am not talking about playing cards.

What then? Laundry... laundry is today's topic of choice.

Folding my son's clothes have become quite the task. The bigger he gets the more clothes he acquires. (This makes sense, yes?) Yes, you may not believe it, but I am a husband that does laundry.

What do I hate to fold the most? Towels and putting away our clothes, the adult clothes... (I'm not talking about lingere.) So, put MJ's stuff into the mix and boom... that is more laundry. So, who does the laundry folding in your home? Is it dad or mom... both?

I am sure there are those few men who help out around the house. (If I am offending you hold on... I am not being sexist.. just asking a question re: gender roles.)

As I sit on the floor, surrounded by mis-matched blue, white and the occassional red socks, 3-6 month onesies and the like, I wonder... do all husands/fathers do this? I mean I want to be the first to tell you this is a choice I make on my own. My wife does not "instruct" me to do anything. My wife does a lot... and I want to make sure I am pulling my own weight as a member of our family. I like to think that all chores, in the house, are shared between my wife and myself.

Although, she does 90% of the cooking... ok maybe 95%, and I do the dishes, on most nights... (I hate cleaning pots!)

As I sit folding my son's orange oneise that says "My dad is my hero," I cannot help but try and envision my male friends and fellow blogging fathers surrounded by mounds of baby clothes, burp clothes, blankets and wash cloths... and somehow I am at a loss and cannot do it. Do other dudes do this or am I the only one? Is this considered "mom's" job in your house or do you take turns?

I picture some men watching ESPN while their wife is upstairs folding their kid's clothes or I can just hear some guys whenever the *ding* of the drying sounds... "I'm off to the gym honey!"

Am I the only dad that folds his kid's laundry? Honestly, for my peace of mind... I really wanna know!

Monday morning poop

My son's poop was monumentally disgusting this morning... and to make it worse... it was on a Monday!

This morning while I was getting ready for work, Mauldin was in his bouncer watching his morning cartoons and I heard him start crying...

"What's wrong?" I asked him. As if he could actually reply... "Daddy! I pooped my britches."
It was my first true, real nasty, gag-reflex inflicting dirrrrty diaper. I had no idea, well I knew diapers could be foul, but I never knew sweet potatoes and breast milk could mix to make... that! The stench went far beyond anything I could imagine my child could create. But, oh, he did! He made a "stink," so to speak.

So, my Monday morning started with poop. Hope your week is delightful!

Today's blog entry was brought to you by the letter "V"

"V" is for Vacation!



And by the numbers:

24 & 39... why? Why you ask? Well, those are the magic numbers for today children!

Because, you see, we will be going to the beach in.. ahh, ahh, ahh.. 24 days!

And, to Disney World in.. count them.. ah, ah, ah 39 days!

So, what have we learned?

We have learned Eric has become obsessed with counting down the days until we go on vacation!

My friends Tigger & Pooh

My mornings have totally changed...

I now have somewhat of a new morning schedule.

I wake up, around 6:15 AM, and am actually out-of-bed by 6:30 AM. I know that my wife is up and almost ready for her day by the time I get up because I hear the running of the shower while I am rustling through the covers trying to convince myself to get out of the bed, while Mandy Moore or Aerosmith play in the background. We have an iPod alarm clock, so we wake up to different music in the mornings.

I finally open my eyes, to the day, and see the bathroom light is on, yet my wife, Laura, has finished her daily routine of bathing, applying makeup and fixing her hair. I can smell the sweet scent of her perfume as I lazily walk myself through the door on my way to the toilet to use our facilities. I kind of look half drunk in the mornings, but my wife loves me despite all this... most people would say "bless his heart!" (That is if you are from the South.)

After taking care of important business, (I know TMI) I push open the door and can hear, a series of high-pitch squeels. Mauldin, our little boy has figured out he has a voice... surprisingly he uses it, A LOT. But, mostly to let us know he is happy! The squeels are pretty much... well, adorable. At times, that they can keep my wife from putting him to bed...

"But, he was making me laugh," said Laura. "I thought, what is another 30 minutes?"

I have to agree with her, he is so cute sometimes it just melts my heart...

My morning used to be one of Sirius Satellite Radio 20 on 20... but now I spend my mornings rushing through a shower and making sure I keep our little dude entertained until it is time for us to pack up and head out the door for day care.

Mauldin really loves watching "My Friends Tigger & Pooh," and I certainly like them since they keep him occupied and "not" crying while I am trying to put on my clothes for the day. Although, I will say... who the heck is Darby???? Hello? Christopher Robin?

At times he drops his rattle or toy and I have to go hand it back to him, but otherwise he is pretty much enthralled by the TV.

I know I am running late if "Disney's Little Einsteins" starts.. "Comon and ride on our .. blaa blaa rocket ship... blaa naaa naa naa Little Einsteins!"

I check to make sure the dogs have plenty of water, put the gate up as so the dogs won't go upstairs, grab his bag of bottles my wife has no nicely set out for me, change MJ's diaper one last time, place him in his car seat, there are days he is okay with this, others he protests... run out the door and pull the car out, MJ is just fine, Logan makes sure he doesn't go anywhere! I come back in, grab him up, put him in the car and we are off on our 30 minute drive to Gloria's! (Gloria is MJ's & our "Mary Poppins.")

Sometimes, if I am not running late, I stop by Starbucks for a quick Vanilla Latte, especially if MJ has kept us up all night...

I will say, my mornings are not what they used to be, but oddly, I love the change. I may be sleepier than normal, but I really love getting to spend the morning drive with our little man. It's cool being able to drop him off and say "Daddy loves you!"

Okay, I admit it, I am such a dork.

Is my son secretly taking growth hormones?

I know it was inevitable that, MJ, our four-month old baby would start growing, but at this rapid of a rate... no, I had no idea! The little guy is getting bigger every day.

A lot of his clothes are becoming a little more snug... he seems to be more and more vocal every day and now his diet has switched it seems as if he has began to spout like some child who just got injected with some sort of growth hormones. I'm totally joking of course. It is the evil clock... the time has just flown by... you hear everyone say "enjoy it... they grow up so fast!" Okay, I understand now.

His little legs are longer, he has begun grabbing at everything... either it is my nose, my mouth, my wife's boobs (which I can't blame him, they're huge), the extra diapers by his changing table or the book we read to him before we put him to bed... he reaches out to touch, touch, touch!

It is actually really cute and I can't help, but laugh while he is squeezing my lips.. I look up at his big blue eyes that are affixed on my face and as he concentrates a couple of drops of drool pour from his mouth... I used to think baby drool was gross... but "my" baby's drool... doesn't bother me!
We lie him on the floor he rolls over and starts to scoot... not like a dog scoot... that would be kinda funny but then that would follow up with a trip to the doctor. We know he will crawl any day now.. I just hope I am around the day it happens. So, our little man is changing before our very eyes! Here is my plea little dude... slow down, I am in no hurry to have your poopie diapers smelling like real poop. I will long for the day when I could honestly say "My kid's s*$% don't stink!"

Vacation where art thou?

It's official... (if it wasn't before, it is now!) I, we, need a VACATION!

So, all of our friends have been to the beach... (some multiple times!)

It seems as if every weekend I see new posts on facebook that say ...

"Headin' out to the beach...," "On our way to our beach vacation," or "watching a beautiful sunset while on the beach.."

Lucky bast....

Okay, I may be a little envious, but I have every right to be! My wife, Laura, and I sit at home, in our lovely little home, and dream of the day when we will be "beach-bound!" Sadly, our time won't be for aleast another month. So close, yet so far..

The only thing that sets my anxious mind at ease is we get almost two vacations in one month, however, waiting for said vacations may drive me mad.

Mad I tell you!

When will it be my time in the sun?! September...
sigh...

When it's our turn we are painting on our car with those white markers... "We're on F&*%$#%^ Vacation!" Okay, maybe not those exact words, but something like that.

Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their week and those who are on vacation... enjoy it while you can!!!!!!!!!

Fridays with MJ

So mom and dad decided to provide me with a new wardrobe... apparently there were some clothing items mommy has really wanted to see me in, but until recently I was to small too wear them. As you can tell I have been working out a lot. My "saucer" can hardly contain my Jedi and ninja moves.

After daddy gave me a bath the other night a mystery drawer was opened and a Pandora's box was unleashed upon my nursery. I used to have free reign of my legs and feet, but alas, they have reintroduced me to "sleepers." I, at one time, wore these blasted things, and now they are back in my life.

Curse you Carter's!

So, this weekend is supposed to be a little more laid back than that of weekends past. Mom and dad have decided to stay put a little more and enjoy the last week of summer down-time.

I, myself, will enjoy the non-stop attention. I do enjoy my raspberry's and haven't been able to show them off in a couple of days... so hilarity will ensue. Dad always laughs with me... or is it at me? I am not quite sure, but I like to make him happy. Of course, I will also get to spend quality time with momma... although this rolling over thing she likes to see me do... I don't like it, but I know in the long run it is important, so I will play along!

So, everyone enjoy your weekend... I will be here, with a big smile on wearing alligators or are they crocodiles? That I don't know, but I know they are on my belly!

Nonetheless, have a nice weekend!

Bon Appétit

So our baby, our little boy, has graduated from his primary food source, breast milk, well not totally graduated, but lets just say we've added more options.

Rice cereal is now part of his diet.

The white, grainy stuff that looks like mushy slop they feed the contestants on Big Brother is now something we are giving our son to ingest to make him "big strong boy!" LOL!


Laura, my wife, will next try bananas and I feel I may barf while trying this because I detest bananas.

Here are a couple of pictures from our endeavors.

Bon appetit!

Lucky S.O.B.

What is going on?

Tonight I actually sat down on our couch and watched the television after I got home. My beautiful wife, Laura, was in the kitchen cooking up a storm, a new recipe I might add... click here to see it.

My wife has always been an amazing cook. I remember the first time I stepped into her apartment when she lived in Buford, GA. As soon as I walked in I smelled a fragrance that skipped through my nasal cavity like the VanTrapp family in the "Sound of Music." I couldn't believe a casserole could smell so delicious... I won't get into the story of me going into a sneezing fit from her demon-cat Jackson... but maybe my reaction could of been that she was cooking up a powerful love potion, like the one in the Half-blood Prince, and that is why I had an allergic reaction. Until tonight I had no idea benadryl counteracts love potions. Why do I say this? We had to... okay I said I wouldn't go into it, well I won't, a lot, just a little. We had to go to the nearest convienent store to get me some allergy medicine because her three cats, yes I said three... made me have an allergic fit. But, maybe the cat was just a cover up and it was the fumes from the cass... okay I'm totally kiddin'! Well, either that or I have been under her control ever since... needless to say, if she had it has worn off and I am still around so, screw that theory. I look at it this way... cats are evil. Moving on...

What was my point? Oh, yes, I sat down on my couch and actually was able to view television without bouncing a four-month old. Yep, I said it, a four-month old. My son is freaking four months old. I had put our little MJ down for bed and he actually stayed asleep. In fact, he is actually still asleep while I am writing this blog, go figure, my luck he will wake up just as I... wait.. was that... no, he is still asleep, he does that sometimes. He likes to turn his head, whimper a little and drift back into nod-land. It also could be like in one of those old Disney cartoons whenever Goofy tries to wake up and a goofy look-a-like, "Mr. Sandman," always comes back and hits him on the head with a large mallet of some kind, some how lulling him back to bed. I figured after a while that would be a little painful and possibly cause some brain damage, but what am I talking about, this is Goofy!

I digress, as I sat on my couch, the king of my castle, with a glass of Pinot Grigio in my right hand and my legs stretched out all I could do was look into the kitchen to see my wife hard at work trying to have dinner ready before our child awoke and we would have to take turns cutting each other's food so that we could eat. The dogs playfully walked beneath her dainty feet as she skirted around cutting, chopping and well, cooking her hands to the bone. Okay, it didn't seem like she was working that hard, but she is an awesome cook so I have to give her some mad props.

All I could do was sit and smile and know that I have a great life. It doesn't matter if something bad or shitty, there I said it, during the day happens because I know that I am one lucky S.O.B. and if my mom and MIL did not read my blog I'd write that out. I am not afraid to say what a wonderful situation I have... My wife is perfect and I am so lucky she picked me to share her life. There are so many blogs out there and I hope, no I pray, that people come to my blog to read about what is going on in my life because maybe, just maybe, I can put a smile on their face so that they can know there is true happiness out there.... and you know what? I am one of those people.

Respect my authority!

The breeze was oddly cool tonight as I stepped out of our Honda Pilot on my way out to the play ground, at our subdivison, where my two-year old niece, Annagrace, was frolicking joyfully amongst the swings, sand and other children.

"Comon! Lets go slide" said Annagrace ever-so enthusiastically. "What's Mauldin doing?"

Annagrace is at the age where she has to ask a question about almost anything. Everything around her she is curious about...

"what is that?"

"It's a napkin.."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm drinking my drink."

"Where is Lala?"

"Who is that?"

"Why?"

"Who?"

"When?"

"He is enjoying his hands." I replied.

My son, Mauldin, or MJ as I like to call him, has started teething and really enjoys sucking on not just his thumb, as most 3-month olds like to do, but he hastens to put his whole fist in his mouth as if he were trying to imitate Karen from the movie Mean Girls.

While I was having a discussion ,with my niece, I could see my wife, out of the corner of my eye, pointing in the distance at something and mouthing "OMG."

"What are you and Paul talking about over there?" I asked.

"There is a little boy over there" replied Paul, "and he is about to break his neck"

"or another important body part" said Laura, chiming into the discussion.

"Where?" I said.

"He is on the other side of the slide," exclaimed Jenn. "you can't see him from here."

Jenn was being pulled to the slide on the other side of the sandy playground. Annagrace really likes it when her mommy plays with her.

Sure enough, as we rounded the corner of all the playground equipment I spotted a young boy, not much older than six or seven years old, on top of the part of the top slide, but what is so bad about this you ask? He was on the outside of the slide, about three stories up!

"Should we do something?" I asked.

"I dunno..." said Paul.

"Laura, say something, you are a teacher," I started at her. "use your authoritative voice."

"You do it!" Laura replied.

I looked around and saw no parents, I didn't want his mom to be just walking by and I start getting onto her son. He had brown hair, and looked as if he had been playing for atleast a couple of hours. I assume this because he probably got bored sliding over and over while his parents played in a volleyball tournament across from said playground. I found that out while talking to this little boy... named Darren. The conversation went like this...

"Hey!" I hollared up at the little kid, "what are you doing up there?"

"Just hanging out!" said Darren.

"Well, we can see that!" I said. "It really isn't safe for you to be up there... where are your parents?"

"They are playing volleyball!" said Darren.

"Well, I think you need to get down from there..." I said sternly, "you are going to fall and hurt yourself."

"Yes, and you shouldn't be climbing on the outside of the slide like that with socks on!" Laura said in accordance of my request.

I figured the little boy would shrug me off and continue on as he was before I came along to interrupt his playtime. However, to my immense surprise the little guy started to climb down... I thought to myself, "please, please don't fall now!"

Darren thankfully made his way back inside the playground platform and was safe now that he was not three stories high on the outside of a plastic blue slide.

So, wow, it made me think... maybe I can do this dad thing! Maybe I can sound like an authority figure and have a kid mind me.

As we were all about to head home, and Paul and I were standing around waiting for the girls to put their shoes back on, I noticed the little boy, Darren, sitting a-top of another slide, this one was a bit lower, but yet still dangerous if he were to fall off of it.

I simply looked in his direction, raised both my arms up in the air and shouted...

"Darren! What did we JUST talk about?"

I said this as a joke and assumed the little boy would not hear me, and if he did he would pay me no mind. However, to shock me yet again, he began his decent and had his feet firmly on the ground before we were off the sand.

So, somone respects my authority... there is hope for me after all!

Fajitas cause gas

Okay, so last night mexican was on the menu for dinner... we: Mauldin, Laura, my sister-in-law, Jenn, brother-in-law, Paul and niece Annagrace all went to a local mexican hotspot called La Parrilla. (I honestly do not know if I spelled that corretly.)

"Hola! Welcome to La Parrilla! Two and a 1/2 for dinner?" said the nice lady behind the podium as we walked in the door.

I stood in the restarant lobby with Mauldin in his car seat on one arm and his diaper bag on the other. I looked the epitome of a daddy. Of course, I am sure I looked the part because my purple polo shirt was wrinkled as can be and I am sure I had some dark circles under my eyes. We decided to head to dinner after a short nap, but can I just say that short doesn't emcompass how short it truly was.

I took the chance to have myself a margarita and Laura and I shared a double order of chicken fajitas. This, at the time, we thought it was a good idea. "We are being so economical!" We thought. However, if I knew what would transpier after said mexican outing I would of chosen something different from their ever-so stickey and glossy menu.

I know this might be TMI, but I feel I need to let you know so you do not make the same mistake. If you feel the need for fajitas and your wife is breastfeeding be sure to take plenty of gas ex, beano or some sort of gas suppression.

After dinner we were so uncomfortable! Mauldin did not have a good night, so that means our sleep was severly disrupted. He was up at 11PM, 1 AM, 3 AM and 5 AM and each time it took a good 15 to 20 minutes to put him back to sleep. Let me just add that I had to go to work the next day and I had a hard time keeping my eyes open the first few hours of the morning.

Moral of story... watch your onion and pepper intake when eating fajitas!

My 100th blog post

So, this blog entry is quite a special one. Why you ask?

This marks my 100^th blog entry. I know, crazy huh? It isn’t groundbreaking news or anything, but it is an accomplishment in my book. What book is that? Not sure, but, it’s mine! It’s all mine, muwhahahahaha!

I was thinking to myself, this morning, on my way into work… "what should be my topic for my Centenarian post?"

Should I make this a thank you entry? Picture myself standing behind a podium; in front of all the blogging world… The spotlight on me as I wipe the sweat from my brow. “I’d like to thank blogger.com…. my wife, my son…! Hi mom!”

Should it be something profound and insightful or something funny and lighthearted? Honestly, I still have no idea. I figured that I would just write as I usually do… about whatever is in my cranium at that time. That is usually how it goes… if you were wondering how my mind works. I am ADD, I have never been diagnosed, but I am pretty sure I am. I am surprised I can ever stay on topic!

My blog was created for so many reasons. One reason was so that our out-of-town family could reap the joys of our experiences. My wife, Laura, and I wanted to make sure they knew what was going on with our pregnancy and beyond. OMG I’m A Daddy is mainly about my experiences with fatherhood and striving to be good dad. My experiences with my family and my son, MJ. My son was the true inspiration for this online journal. It was to document my wife’s pregnancy and how it affected me. I wanted to make sure I was able to give an account of my side of the story. My crazy stories… I cannot believe I have people who visit my blog and read the rubbish that I write. A blog is such a great outlet, though. I mean I could talk about Jellyfish, post-it notes (I invented post-its) or how I don’t like the color mauve. Why? Because this is MY blog and it gives me the freedom to discuss whatever I want to discuss. I can vent to my blog… I can put my thoughts out there and it is sort of liberating to tell the story of my life and have people from all walks of life read about it. It is mind blowing to me that people visit my blog, and for that I am thankful.

I have learned so much from when I started. It is amazing to me to think that I could find friends through this medium, but I have. I first was so jealous of all the other “daddy-bloggers” out there. I never thought I could write anything worth reading. All the other bloggers seemed so good at it… would I be worth conversing with? But, many of the dad-bloggers accepted me. “Why me?” I wondered. “What kind of insight would I ever have to offer?” I said to myself. I was a soon-to-be dad… I didn’t know jack! Well, I have an uncle Jack, but that is beside the point.

The friendships I have made through blogging staggers my mind. The guys (and gals,) are spread out all over the world… I have never met them, but I feel like I know ‘em. They are my online fam. They make me feel like I am not losing my mind!

So, I am patting myself on the back for once. I am proud of myself. I started something a year ago and am still going strong. Let’s hope that writers block doesn’t creep up on me because I still have a lot to say!

Cheers!

Summer vacation in the fall?

Today, while my boss is out-of-town on her week-long vacation, I am reminded that I have yet to take a vacation of my own. I sit at my desk looking longingly into the background scene I have plastered across my computer screen. The water looks so cool and inviting. I can almost feel the warm breeze, the sun and the wave mist splashing in the distance. I am then rudely awakened by a ringing office phone.

I mean my wife, Laura, and I have been on a short, quickie trip to Chateau Elan, a much-needed overnight stay, for our one-year wedding anniversary, but that’s it! I need more, I need more…

That’s my summer, happy freakin’ summer!

No, seriously, we are going on vacation, don’t get me wrong, but not until, okay, wait for it…. September. That’s is so many months away!!! Many, many moons.

However, the Skates family will be making up for our lost time-off, this fall, trust this.

Labor Day weekend we will be going with my family to Panama City Beach, FL. Yes, you read me right, the “Red neck Riviera” here we come. This will be our annual “beach” trip with my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, Everett, and my nephew’s Nanu. We will only be there Friday to Monday, but it will be worth it just to have some time to slip my feet into the sandy beach and warm Gulf water.

Then it is back to work, for us, for about two weeks and then we are off to… wait for it… are you waiting for it or just reading on? Dammit, you spoiled the surprise. Anyway, Disney World! We have been planning this trip for what seems like forever, but it is finally winding down. It won’t be long until we will be in the presence of the Great Mouse, Mickey. (Cue angelic music from above.) We will be there for a whole glorious week of fun and well-mannered frivolity. Hopefully my niece will not run screaming in terror from Chip & Dale or Lilo & Stitch. She is a bit skittish with “plushies.” I have a feeling this was fostered and inherited from my sister-in-law, her mother, Laura’s sister, Jennifer. I heard word that she has never done well with things like this from theme parks.

We will be traveling to Disney and staying at the Wilderness Lodge. All of Laura’s, immediate, family will be in attendance. Of course, me, Laura and MJ; her mom, dad, older sister, brother-in-law and nephew, Drew; also her second oldest sister, brother-in-law and Annagrace, the aforementioned niece. I have only been to Disney World with a “group” of people once before and that was in high school when I went on a band trip, no band camp jokes please. Yes, I went to band camp. Moving on…

All I am saying is I am due for a nice vacation and sadly I won’t be able to enjoy time off during the true “summer,” but I will make up for it on the tale end. So my summer vacation will be in the Fall. Is that weird? Hope you all are having great fun summer vacations with your families.

Have you ever been to the beach with a six month old? What about Disney World?

Oh rest and relaxation, how I long for thee.

Friday's with M.J.

So here it is, Friday, yet again, and we are on the edge of the 4th of July weekend.

Next weekend will mark the beginnings of July... it is a very special weekend... my mommy and daddy keep saying. I don't know why though... something about "it was the day when everything changed?" Or something like that, I dunno... anyway, where was I? Oh! Yes, where has my summer gone? Where has it gone, I ask?

My mommy will not have much longer, with me at home, before she has to go back to work. Poo, poo on work. I poo on it, I say. Phewy!


My Uncle Charles has come home now from California and I know cousin Drew is really excited about that. Welcome back Uncle Charles!

The weekends are always full of fun things for me to do with mom and dad. This weekend is no different... I get to go to my cousin Grant's second birthday party on Saturday! Apparently, he too, is a huge Sesame Street fan! We have sort of bonded on our love of Elmo. Cousin Grant is a cool dude.

Mommy and Daddy have decided to go on what they call a "date night?" Not sure what this consists of, but they asked Nana to come stay with me on Saturday night. I think Papa might come too, but we'll see. I hear talk about seeing Robots... sounds like something I would enjoy watching. I do enjoy a good action flick, but cest la vie'. Let them have their fun... I will be busy enjoying my Disney Sing-a-long from the Animal Kingdom. Those kids act so silly, but it's my guilty pleasure.

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their upcoming weekend festivities! Don't do anything I wouldn't approve of!!!!

Bye!

Wordless Wednesday

A family left out in the heat...

This weekend was eventful to say the least...

This past Saturday was a night with friends, good food and a trip to the park; sounds like a lot of fun, right? Well, when a slight miscommunication can change the face of the entire experience you can surely bet there will be a blog written about it.

It was Saturday, June 20^th, and we had our friends over for dinner. Brad, Adrienne and their one and half year old boy, Hudson. We hadn’t seen them since our little bundle of joy had joined the family. For dinner we enjoyed mesquite, grilled chicken along with fluffy couscous and green beans. It was a lovely evening until the fatal suggestion, I made, to go to the park located in our subdivision.

We drive to the park...

We arrive, I place Mauldin in our black and red baby bjorn and we all proceed to watch Hudson enjoy his moment in the swing. What is an outing without pictures? We proceed to make a few memorable snap shots before we decide to head back to the house and enjoy some good coffee and intelligent conversation.

Back at the house, excuse me, our drive way we quickly discover there is something wrong when I ask my wife for the key to the front door.

"I don't have it." Laura whispers to me with a look of pure shock on her face.

Of course, you all are probably wondering don't you have a key hidden outside somewhere? No, in fact we don't. (Don't start mom.)

Secondly, the key that should be on my wife's key ring, the key to the house, is hanging on a hook, inside the house, on a Vera Bradley, key chain/license holder combo. With that said, we have a ghetto garage and for this we have only one garage door opener and it is in my car which is not the car we took to the park! That's convienient, huh?

Thirdly, speaking of spare keys, we were smart enough to give our neighbors keys to our home. But, the two spare keys were unattainable, unfortunately, on this night, because neither of the two were at home.

To add insult to injury, neither my wife, nor I, brought our cell phones with us on our fun and sponteneous trip to said park.

"I thought you brought yours," Laura said.

"Well, I didn't bring mine because I figured you brought yours!" I quickly replied.

So, lets take a quick account: No phones, no keys, a 3-month old baby and 90 degree heat equals, well.. it pretty much looked hopeless.

However, our friends, Brad & Adrienne, were still with us and had not headed for the hills after finding our sad perdicament.

"Hey, lets think about this," said Laura. "Lets stay calm and think."

"Okay." I said. "I'm calm, but I'm hot and I need to pee!"

"Me too," added Brad.

With that said, we headed to the backyard. Brad and I took refuge in two seperate bushes on opposite sides of the yard. I felt so stupid to be peeing in the bushes at my own house and I was sober.

"What about Melissa!" Laura said with a bit of urgency in her voice.

"Who's Melissa?" Adrienne said.

"Our Pet Nanny," Laura and I said in unison.

Melissa, the nice lady who watches Logan and Andy, our two playful pups, while we are out-of-town has a key to our house! This was our saving grace! But, is she close by... what if she is out-of-town herself?

We proceeded to call Melissa, with the use of Adrienne's cell phone, and to no avil. She did not answer. I went ahead and called my mom to let her know about our situation, as Hudson went tumbling onto the grass, crying soon followed.

"Mom, you won't believe..." I started.

"Is that my baby crying?" my mom said, interrupting.

"No, that's Hudson. Mom, listen..."

I went on to tell her what our perdicament was and she went on to tell me how it could be avoided. This was not helping my current situation.

I look over at Laura and she has Mauldin bouncing up and down on her knees. He had no idea what situation his crazy parents had put him in. He couldn't of looked happier.

"We already called our pet nanny, can you please keep trying to contact her?" I said.

"Yes."

Not two minutes went by and Adrienne's phone started to ring... was it Melissa? I hoped, I wished, I hoped some more!

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

It had a black rubbery covering. I slide my thumb up and down the side as I awaited to hear a response. It was like an iPhone, but not, I think it was a Blackberry storm, not sure, but it was a life saver whatever it was.

"Eric?" said the voice on the other end.

"Melissa! Thank God!" I quickly replied. "Did you get my message?"

"Yes," she said. "I can be there in 20 minutes, is that okay?"

"Oh yah, that's perfect!" I said.

Yes! Our Pet Nanny was coming... she was coming to our rescue! She arrived shorly after, but it felt like an hour. We sat in our Honda Pilot with the AC on full blast. Mauldin took this chance to test out the driver's seat. He loved the steering wheel.

So, we had quite a memorable experience this Father's Day weekend... one we won't soon forget.

Thank you to my mom, Brad, Adrienne & of course, our Pet Nanny, Melissa!

The last strawberry in my fruit cup...

So, I am not exactly sure when or how it happened, but my likes and dislikes have sporatically changed. My tastes for certain foods have switched on like a light switch in the middle of the night.

As I sit here eating my lunch and digging my black, plastic fork into my medium cup of fruit, from Chick-fil-A, and saw there was only one single strawberry left it dawned on me… who am I? I don’t eat strawberries! When did I start liking them? What is going on here?

Please understand what a pickey eater I am. First off, and please don’t judge me here, but I do not eat red meat and I haven’t for nine years. I can just hear Aunt Voula, from my Big Fat Greek Wedding, “You don’t eat no meat?!” It is quite a complicated choice and I have probably made it insanely annoying for everyone I love who enjoys cooking out, and during the summer it is a popular pastime, atleast here in Georgia. No cheese burgers for me, turkey burgers, yes. Chicken? Sure. Bison, not so much. All my friends and family have accepted me for my wacky and unusual choice, but isn’t that what your friends and family are supposed to do? Soy? No. You don’t want me to eat soy… if you give me soy you better hand over the Beano or gas ex and not just the regular or store brand… I need the ULTIMATE extreme… okay, moving on. I still get the “oh yah! You don’t eat beef,” and it is always followed with “why?” I, look at them, take a deep breath and sigh, and oblige to give a short and concise explanation of, “it’s just a personal choice.”

Moving on I will let you know I was always one of those kids who would say, “no thank you,” to certain things at dinner time and get togethers. Don’t you hate those kids? I detested cream corn, tomatoes, collard greens and watermelon. My love for coke never existed and I still hate that bubbly mess in my mouth. I know the taste for these items will never, ever change. Okay, probably… I have learned to never say “never.” However, I cannot say the same for scrumptious, caesar salads, delicious, red strawberries, juicy red or green apples, steamed broccoli, buttery asparagus, twice baked potatoes and coffee. Yes, I said coffee. I used to not drink coffee. Try to wrap that factoid around your brain. I find myself craving these things as if I were some pregnant woman yearning to satisfy my appetite. My appetite for those I used to gag to visualize on my plate.

What is going on here? Am I getting older and learning to appreciate more things in life? Is this normal? Why is it I hated eating Caesar salads about a year ago and then just one day… it was different. It was like an alien ship came to earth and reprogrammed part of my brain while I was sleeping. “You want strawberries. You are a good person. You want to go to the Island.”

Any thoughts or answers? I was just wondering.

Oh.... It's Friday!

Isn’t it a nice day today? Oh, and why would it not be? The sun-is-a-shinin’.. well, it is here where we are.

I would say I was glad, it’s Friday, even if it were raining, there were cloudy skies, pasha, it doesn’t matter because today… is… Friday! Friday, I say!

It is the beginning of what will probably be a pretty event-filled weekend!

First of all, it will be my daddy’s first Father’s Day. Mommy and I got him the coolest gift, but he doesn’t know what it is because we hid it from him…

Secondly, I am hitting a milestone, well sorta! I mean it's quite a milestone. Mommy and Daddy keep telling people about it. I will be turning three months old on Sunday… They seem pretty stoked about it.

Well, don’t do anything I wouldn’t be proud of… behave yourselves. Happy early Father’s Day to all you dads out there, and more importantly, happy Friday!

Click here to check out my dad’s column on Examiner.com!