OMG I'm A Daddy!

Encouragement... it's a good thing!

2010-11-17T10:28:00.009-05:00

If you had told me, five years ago, I would be married with two beautiful children today I would of said "uh... yah right!"

But, here I am... happily married to my beautiful wife and we were lucky to have two amazing children. Mauldin just suprises me everyday! I sit on the couch and just watch him walk around, singing his version of ABC/1.2.3.... and it makes me wonder what we did to make him so perfect.

Then there is our pretty princess, Elle. She is just so happy! I have NEVER seen a little kid, a baby no-less, smile as much as she does. The amount of happiness she emits is intoxicating and you cannot help but grin from ear to ear when you see her.

Just the other day, as I was about to head up the stairs my wife let out a gasp!

"Are you okay?" I said quickly. I was standing, one foot on the beige carpet on our stairs as I had one hand tightly grasped the gray graco baby gate that was installed to keep Mauldin from falling up or should I say down that stairs.

"Yes," my wife, Laura replied. "Did you see? Good job, Mauldin!"

I look down and expect to see my son scribing his name on a pad of paper or from the sound of the gasp he may of cured cancer... I wasn't sure. I saw him sitting in the floor with a toy he got from his cousin Everett. The toy is a Red and Blue circular toy that has a yellow handle and different shaped blocks... I guess you could call it a "Shape sorter." He sat on our kitchen floor with four or five of the yellow shapes all around him.

"Watch what your son can do..." Laura said. "Go on Mauldin, put them back!"

Our son loves to put things in their place... if he has a sippy cup it must go in it's cup holder... and if it is on the floor, it must be right side up. He makes sure all the doors are closed because heaven forbid one be open. This is true about the fridge as well... you open it, he MUST close it!

Like she said, I stood there and looked at my little boy work out placing all the blocks into their place. I glaced from Mauldin to Laura to see her face beaming with immense pride.

"But, babe..." I started. "I've seen him do that before, he's been doin' that for a while!"

I headed over to my little boy and patted him on the back. "That's great, Mauldin." I interjected.

"What?" she said with a hint of shock in her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal." I calmly replied. "He's been doing puzzles for a while too... I just figured you knew!"

"NO!" she said while she clapped in Mauldin's direction showing her approval. "That's so amazing, Eric! That's really advanced."

"Yay!!! Yay, Mauldin!" I joined in on the clapping.

Mauldin looked up at both of us and starting clapping too! Well, that is all I needed to hear. As soon as anyone says something positive about your offspring... you just beam with pride, excitment... you know, all those good emotions.

I immediatley looked over at our little girl as she swayed back and forth in her exersaucer screaming in what seemed to be excitment for her big brother, although it could of been need for attention! I kinda felt bad we had put all that clapping and excitment into her brother so I felt the need to give Elle some encouragement and attention too! She had a paci in one hand and was grabbing onto a crunchy-sounding flower with the other. I crouched down and gave her a big grin. She responded with a high-pitch sound that could probably call some dolphins if we lived close enough to the ocean. At times we call her our little grasshopper... because of this commerical. It's really sweet actually because she always screams with a huge smile. As I went to stand up I felt something brush my side... it was Mauldin! He ran over and gave his sister a big hug... I guess he didn't want her to be left out either.

Pride and applejuice

2010-08-15T21:00:00.006-04:00

Kids are curious and funny , little creatures. Well, very little ones… ones that can’t really verbalize what they want and so when they are upset all you get is a whine, cry or all out temper tantrum. In our case we have two children that do this, but they just do it on different levels.

Our daughter is a little easier to read. Up until three or four months old babies usually need either of a handful of things… either it is their diaper needs to be changed, they are hungry, sleepy or perhaps they have a tint of gas or the hiccups. These are baby basics and easily subdued.

You would think it would be the other way around, but as they get older they have more issues! Maybe it is because I offer him juice and because I didn't magically have the juice ready, at the time I asked him if he wanted it... he FREAKS out! I'm working on my choice of words now... Also, we may have the wrong TV show or movie and he wants to watch Super Why rather than Mickey Mouse Club House? It is amazing, he will pick the same movie to watch - everytime if we give him a choice... 9 times out of 10 it will be the Incredibles! Although, there are times he picks up Avatar or X-men: United, but when we take it away.

"No Mauldin," we say... "this is not a Mauldin or Elle movie, this is a movie just for mommy and daddy." He doesn't like that answer and will begin to throw all the movies from the cabinet on the floor as his revenge for not getting to view the film of his choice.

Mauldin's temper is the same everytime... it usually begins with a short whine or whimper and is followed with throwing his juice cup or toy (in this case movie) on the floor.

“Mauldin,” I look at him, “that wasn’t nice, now was it?” He looks at me with his big, 16-month, blue eyes, sometimes with tears running down his face, and just lets out a large exhale. This symbolizes a non-verbal “done.” Like, I’m done with this conversation. Now, granted 90% of the time our little man is a perfect gentleman. He follows the rules we set for him… he puts away his toys and relatively never gets into “trouble.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask him, not expecting an answer because his total vocabulary consists of probably six words: juice, up, down, zap, daddy and done.

“Da!” he says with much zeal, as if he had forgotten he was crying! He then puts two fingers to his mouth and begins flipping them on his lips which give me the clue that he now has something else on his mind and is ready to play again. Whatever was bothering him is now over and he has now moved on. Taking that toy away was so two minutes ago dad… I’m sure that is what he is thinking.

My son has many levels… the more in-depth and harder to control tantrums usually begin with laying in the floor and banging his head against whatever hard surface he is near… the floor, a cabinet, chair, his bed railings, etc… which creates more crying… It’s a vicious cycle.

We usually just have to pick him up and take him out of the situation or he will lay on the floor and just… well lay there. This past Monday morning he had woke up in a foul mood and so after getting his diaper changed (on the floor of our bedroom) and his clothes half on, ready to take him to daycare, he cried through the whole process… I gave up with his lack of cooperation and so I decided okay, I’ll just leave him be and he will discover I’m not paying attention to his fit… and calm down… Well, calm down yes, but our son is a prideful little man. Fast forward, five minutes later, and well, I come back to peek in on him from the bathroom and there he was, still… same place, hasn’t moved from the hardwood floor… one green sock on with the other laying on the floor next to him, I could see the hint of the alligator stitching from where I stood, he did have a shirt on, but his shorts were lying next to the alligator sock. The child just laid there, one finger in his mouth and eyes fixed on Special Agent OSO.

No one can break my child’s pride.

Now, where does he get this from? This is still an unanswered question.

Two perfect little people

2010-07-29T20:48:00.004-04:00

In the midst of a week full work week it is amazing how I found time to sit down and rest, rest and not worry about bills, kids, or even work. I just took the time to listen to the waves crashing around me… the warm waves in the distance, I can smell the salty, Caribbean sea air and feel the warming sensation of the sun on my over-worked and tired body. I rub my toes together to knock the sand off. I feel a breeze on my face and peek one eye open to feel the cool shade from the palm tree above. The beads of sweat running down my sun-kissed, tan chest as I lounge in a white, beach chair just close enough to the sand that I can run my fingers gingerly through the rough, granule mixture of soft, white sand. I lay comfortable, calm, serene in this Corona-like state.

“Eric.”

I hear my name being called. Is a waiter walking by, dipping his head down to whisper to me, not to stir me from my zen?

“Eric?”

What service, what a life I have… it’s like a dream. I groggily turn my head over to the right and open my mouth to make my order for a fruity, Caribbean drink. I open my eyes and before I can order my drink the shadowed figure above looks stunningly familiar.

“Eric, hand her over,” my wife, Laura, says. “I need to swaddle your daughter.”

I look down and realize it was all a grand dream. I was, in-fact, home on my comfy couch lying with my daughter, Elle, secure in our Baby Bjorn, on my chest. It had been such a taxing and hard week and it was only Thursday! I forgot I had laid down after chasing my little boy around and before I knew it I was out like the light in our bathroom. Side note: Our bathroom light has been out for about two weeks and I keep putting it off from changing it, I swear to my wife that “this weekend, after I mow, I will change it. I look down at my little girl, snoring lazily with one of her little hands up by her face and the other dropped, idly by my side. I look to my right and see my son sitting down on the floor and trying to place two plastic blocks together. It seemed as if he was getting really frustrated because the yellow and green block wouldn’t connect so the anger in him rose and he threw it on the floor behind him. He then had his attention taken away when he struck up a conversation with his six dwarves. A mixture of “daa’s” and “doo’s” go back and forth from he and the dwarves. We are unsure of the whereabouts of “Happy” the dwarf.

It is amazing to see how much our son, Mauldin, has progressed in just sixteen months. I lay there with a six-week old baby on me and see my other child running around, playing and trying to put toys together. It boggles my mind that my child learns! I mean it is amazing to me!

“Bring me your football Mauldin!” I say enthusiastically! He looks as me with his glittering blue eyes and turns to find his ball. I know how elementary some things can be, but to me, “the dad,” I just feel as if my child is a genius!

I cannot believe my wife and I are parents of two children! I would say “how did this happen?” But, that would be kind of stupid, but in all fairness it staggers me to wake up and know I am responsible for two little people! Two perfect little people…

Welcome Home, Elle!

2010-06-24T20:41:00.007-04:00

Our little princess decided to make her debut on June 22, 2010 at 4:51am.

Stats: 6lbs 7 oz / 19 1/2 inches long

Her big brother was so excited to meet her!

We were really excited to bring her home.

Welcome home!

A plague on all our house

2010-06-03T19:32:00.010-04:00

Most people spent their Memorial Day weekend lounging around, frolicking at the beach or spending quailty time with their loved ones... Well, I certainly got some quality time, but quality was over shadowed by the immense plague that has surrounded the Skates household since last week.

Our little boy loves to play with his friends and unfortunatley his little friends like to share and that includes germs.

He has been so sick, he would just take turns lying on us napping... that is whenever he got comfortable and sometimes this takes a little bit of kicking and sometimes in the area that may cause us to not give him anymore siblings.

Now granted kids get sick, right? You know this... I know this. I am well aware. But, our son ended up with a ear infection...

"but how can this be?" I questioned the doctor at the Urgent Care facility. "We just got tubes put in his ears... shouldn't that keep him from getting ear infections?"

"Generally, yes" the doctor followed. "However, there are the instances where he can still get them."

Well, how-de-do, I had no idea, someone failed to give us that tip of information... we were told if he were to get one ... we would know from the gunk coming from his ears... In this case, however, no gunk. We had no idea what was causing our 14 month old son to have a fever of 102.

So, let me set the scene for you... the most inopportune time for our little boy to get sick... he does...

Fast forward to Saturday... we started the morning, 9 am, at the "urget care," (I referred to earlier)... our little boy had been up all night, coughing and hacking and squirming... we had no idea what to do besides administer motrin and tylenol! So, we knew we have to call the "urget care" and get there as soon as they opened their doors. After sitting in the waiting room, where our little boy ran from chair to chair and banging his head against doors we were called back... after seeing the doctor we paid the "urgert care" co-pay and was sent on with no Rx, but with a wealth of information...

"Call us, if his temp goes any higher," the doctor told us has he exited the room! Thanks doc!

Late Saturday afternoon, about 4pm, my wife and I discovered a lot of funk in my sons left eye, so we tried to find the eye drops from the last time he had pink eye... as soon as I hit the last kitchen stair and rounded the corner to the den I heard and a loud noise and scream from my wife. I immediatley turned around to find my wife sprawled on the stairs, with our son still in her arms. Please note, women nine months pregnant should not be taking the express option when taking stairs... I ran to her and in my frantic mindset all I could do was go from my son to my wife, who do I help first??? I felt such a sense of urgency and panic I looked for blood, I looked for signs of broken limbs... I...

"Take him!" Take him!" my wife exclaimed in sheer agony. I wasn't sure what to do!!! How was I to pick who was more important... I can't take that kind of pressure!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her arm was pretty badly bruised and considering I could already see the blue she had to of hit it pretty hard.

I grabbed our little boy who was whailing at the top of his lungs... his eyes were full of tears, his face red and snot oozing from his nose.

"Ohhh, ohh you're okay little man!!" I said as I bounced him up and down all the while looking at my wife lying on the stairs.. it seemed hours had gone by but only seconds. I saw the drops we were searching for on our brown, linoleum kitchen floor. It was a very, small, clear bottle with blue writing on it.

Laura slowly started to get up, "stop! Wait babe," I said "let me help you!"

I put our son, Mauldin, down and let him stand on his own, also to check to make sure his leg was okay. He took one tiny step toward my direction. I could tell then he hadn't broken his leg. He did have what seemed like a red carpet burn on his knee cap.

"I think his leg fell behind mine on the way down," Laura gasped. "Check him to make sure he is okay."

Mauldin stood there in his t-shirt and diaper, still sniffing, but the crying fit seemed to have subsided, except when I lost eye contact with him the crying continued, but this time at an even higher level. He was fine, but the fall and seeing his mommy lying on the floor I'm sure scared him a little.

"He is okay, sweetheart..." I reassured her. "Are you okay?"

I reached over to help my wife stand up from the stairs and noticed pieces of our baby gate all over the kitchen floor...

"Wow," I said "I wonder where that piece goes!?" I tried to insert some humor into the seemingly stressful situation.

My inital thought when Laura fell was, of course, her and my little boy's well-being, but then I also worried about Elle. Our little girl is still inside her mom's belly... and if she was asleep that was quite a wake-up call for her!

"Call the doctor's right now and see what they want us to do" I suggested to Laura as I held Mauldin in my arms. He continued to sniff and wimper all the while tugging on my shirt collar.

"Okay, hand me the phone." Laura said.

"I will call your mom to see if she can come stay with him." I replied.

One thing I didn't know was that Laura's mom and dad had been in South Carolina to visit Laura's sister, Amy and our nephew, Drew...

"We are in SC," replied a voice on the phone "what's going on?"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" Mauldin screamed into the phone. I tried to talk as loud as I could, but his deafening screams were muffling my dialouge into the phone. I finally got him quite by the art of distraction... I gave him a plastic chicken leg to hold from his little play kitchen... but as soon as I stood up to talk on the phone again he banged his forehead into the "play" kitchen sink... let the crying resume!

"Call us back when he has calmed down," My mother-in-law replied "I can't hear you!"

My parents were on their way back from a week in Myrtle Beach, SC, at this moment. But, I knew they were headed home... so I called and did not get a hold of my mom... so I called my sister... no answer... I then tried my dad and finally got a hold of them!

"Now, don't freak out..." I said preparing them. "Laura is not in labor, but she fell down the stairs." I went on to explain the siutation.

Well, obviously today was not ideal for us to go into labor, much less have any other type of emergency...

The nurse at the hosptial suggested we come in and have Laura monitored... My parents were in Augusta and were still a good three hours away and I knew we needed to get to the hosiptal before that. Laura was to be monitored for alteast four hours!

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jenn and Paul, live just down the street, conveient for us when we are in a jam, but on this day our niece Annagrace was sick too and we didn't want our two kids sharing more germs and getting sicker than they already were. Who else? My brain was fried, I couldn't seem to focus on the task at hand... my mind was going from my wife to my son to my unborn daughter... what were we going to do? We certainly couldn't take him to triage with us with him being as sick as he was! I called our friends Amanda and Mike, a fairly newly wed couple, who I trust with my life and just hoped they were nearby and available.

"We are on the otherside of town," Amanda said. "It might be a little while before we can get there."

I was so frustrated... what were we going to do?!

"I have an idea," Laura said. "Let me call and see if Tori and Jeremy can watch him."

Tori and Jeremy are Laura's cousins, they live in our subdivision, so it would be so easy to take him there. But, could they watch Mauldin for the amount of time until our parents could arrive, that was the question! Thankfully, Tori said they could and I rushed to get all of his stuff together to head over there...

I wish I could tell you something more exciting happened, like it sent Laura into labor and we had Elle here already, but nothing like that happened at all... We did end up at the hospital, in the triage unit, for a little over four hours and mom and baby were just fine... well, Laura did end up with some major bruising, but luckily she fell on her toosh and so it softened the blow for our little girl.

To put insult to injury, whatever Mauldin had... he has now passed onto me and my wife. So, Mauldin I love you, but let daddy give you a lesson that sometimes sharing is a bad thing.

Lets hope for less eventful weekends from now on!!!

Celebrating Father's Day

2010-06-01T19:52:00.007-04:00

Father's Day is coming up soon...

"Father's Day," is on Sunday, June 20th and this is such a special day because it is a day when us dads are celebrated and revered as the "best dads in the world!" It is a day when you get to have your family make a big deal over a role that is so easy and rewarding, but exhausting at the same time!

Oh yes, the day we Fathers, Dads, Pops, Papi, whatever it is your kid(s) call you, are celebrated and are given all types of grand and manly gifts.

Recently I stumbled upon a website, RedEnvelope.com, it is an amazing website. If you have the kind of dad who has everything this is the site for you. Take a few minutes and look around and I am sure you will find something that "the old man" will appreciate. They have such a huge variety of things to purchase. In my case, I was looking for the dads in my life... (not to mention dropping hints to my wife) both my dad and my father-in-law. My wife and I looked and looked and finally found the perfect gift... wanna see it? Click here!

It is a family handprint frame... perfect for the dad who already has 100 ties, plenty of fishing gear and too many golf balls. Sometimes gifts with a personal touch, such as this gift, make it an even more special gift. The family handprint frame comes with the option to have a message engraved for dear ol' dad. The wood is strudy and doesn't feel cheap as some wooden frames do. It's a great way to get your kids involved in a family project... Today, I find nothing is more precious than time with your family. The frame comes with paint so you can make hand prints giving it the extra special customized touch. Don't you want the kind of gift that lasts and will cause a little grin everytime someone looks at it?

Act now and use this code: 10offred and save 10% off your order!!!

I can't wait to see what I am getting this year... it might be a brand new baby girl, if my daughter decides to surprise us and come a little early. What a unique Father's Day surprise that would be!

This year when you are looking for something to give on Father's Day... don't just buy something plain and everyday... visit the place for unique and personalized gifts, RedEnvelope.com.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in my life... and to my fellow daddy-bloggers!

*Special thanks to one awesome and brave dad serving our country. We appreciate and miss you Charles.

Spending time in the kitchens

2010-04-27T19:18:00.006-04:00

"How was your day dear?" my wife asks me as I walk in the door.

"Great!" I say in a sarcastic tone, "how was yours?"

In the background you can hear the familiar tune of "A, B, C, D...." as our son stands in front of out fridge repeatedly pressing a button that plays the song over and over... yet he never lets it get to any farther than D.

"Oh, it was good..." she continues, talking as she rumages through our pantry, most likely looking for something to cook us dinner for that evening. "Just a few more days until summer starts..."

I am also excited about the idea of summer because this summer will be my first I can actually enjoy without the lingering and painful thought of having to register for another semester of school. I am graduating this May and am so very excited about the accomplishment. Now, I say this in hopes that I pass my three remaining classes and that the party my wife has been planning for a month will not go all to waste.

"Oh, I'm ready for some warm weather..." I say. "We really need a vacation."

A vacation is not in our near future, however, due to the bundle of joy that the stork is dropping off at our door step come the end of June. I see him on the radar getting closer every day whenever I wake up and see that my wife, Laura's, belly is expanding at an alarming rate.

"My back is killing me," says Laura. "I feel like Elle just can't get comfortable for some reason."

We have decided to call our little girl "Elle." You may be a bit confused, but it is pretty simple, it isn't pronounced, "Ellie" it is just like the magazine or letter! Her full name is Estelle Lillian, but we are going to call her "Elle" for short. Sweet, simple, classy... well, atleast we think so.

"Dadadadadada," my son says as he come toddling to me at a quickening pace.

"Boom!" Laura and I say in unison. He gets to going so fast he can't seem to stop so he inevitably falls face down. Then we wait, we wait for the cry or the laugh. Thankfully this time he became distracted by a toy he saw on the floor near by and headed that way over to "his" kitchen area that his Aunt and Grandmother purchased for him at a garage sale. It is a pretty impressive set up he has, however, I will say the lack of food in his kitchen makes it seem like he is in a baby recession. Maybe they sell the food and baby food stamps too!

"Oh that's the correct place for this," Laura says as she opens the little, silver fridge door.

"What is it?" I asked.

"His phone, he put his phone and a blue block in his fridge," Laura said.

"Well, maybe that's where he knew he'd find it!" I said. "If I remember correctly you seem to misplace things a lot nowadays!"

"It's because I'm pregnant," she continued. "I can't help it!"

She reached down to pick up our little boy who was quickly pulling everything out of the cabinets where we keep "his" bowls. The bowls were actually a wedding gift from, well, I actually don't remember, but we still use them to cook with, but due to the multicoloredness they seem to make for fun play items for a 13 month old.

"Da!" Mauldin retorted. His right arm quickly rose and he pointed in the direction of the stairs, no where near where "daddy" was standing.

"Mauldin," I said. "Gimme five."

He quickly patted my right hand and proceeded to clap as if he knew he had done something correct.

"Yay!" We all clapped to show we approved of his accomplishment.

"Okay, Mauldin, are you ready for bath time?" I asked as if I was expecting a competent "why yes father, I would appreciate you taking me upstairs so I can bathe this evening... and afterwards I would prefer a massage while you sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and we can end the evening with a rendition of my favorite story, Pat them gently.

Instead all I got was "Da!"

One day at a time.

Trust in a modern world

2010-04-05T19:37:00.008-04:00

I have always worried, worried that I would not be able to teach my child important things. You may say “what kind of things?” Well, I am not talking about stuff like riding a bike, casting a fishing line or even running a mile. What I am talking about are life lessons… like “being a honest person,“ “being courteous,” or “going with your gut!” I have always wondered how does one actually teach this trait? It isn’t really learned in school, or the home, but more of a life lesson one learns as they grow up.

You see random acts of kindness here and there, but you go on about your day and never really think about them. For instance, my wife, Laura, and I were out at Old Navy, we had purchased over the amount we had intended to do. We were in line ready to check out and a lady, we will call her the “Coupon fairy” and she handed us a coupon that ended up taking 30% off every thing we bought! It was amazing… but we went on and never really told anyone about it.

I was thinking about it and wondered.. does my little boy truly trust anyone besides his mommy and daddy yet? I mean there are different levels of trust, of course, but what is going through his mind when he is playing at daycare with his BFF Ben?

The idea of trust can get you in trouble sometimes… but there are instances when you have a feeling about someone that allows you to step out of your controlled comfort zone and let someone else do something for you.

I walk into a large brick building in the middle of the KSU campus, I push through the large doors, walk in and stretch my neck around the corner, to the right. I do this every Monday/Wednesday right before my Econ class. I have a huge gap of time between classes so I want to make sure I get my spot at the same table because this is where I hook my computer up. The building doesn’t seem to have ample plug-ins so everyone with a laptop computer or dying cell phone have them monopolized.

As fate would have it someone is sitting at my table on this very day, this very moment and my dreams of getting a blog written are dashed to the wind… At first, I see my nemesis at the, no my table. She is a young, Hispanic chick wearing bejeweled sandals and her toes are painted pale pink. Do I engage in conversation in hopes she will invite me to the table? Do I ask her for the time so she will look over and maybe offer the empty spot across from her so I can boot up my low battery? What am I to do, how am I to proceed? What if this girl is a total bitch and/or thinks I am hitting on her? I must choose my words carefully and stealthfully… my computer’s life depends on this stranger with pink toe nails.

“Hi,” I say “excuse me.”

She looks over, her pony tail swings to the left. “Yes?” she smiles.

“Do you mind if I plug my computer in at your table?” I ask.

Her table? It’s MY table… but I must be kind or I could be sitting at a squatty, little table with no way to connect to the World Wide Web.

“Sure!”

“Great,” I reply. “Thanks so much! I really need to study.”

The false statement just fell out of my mouth. I was intending to study, I wanted to write my blog! I’m such a blog whore.

The trust had been initiated, but my next step whet far beyond my expectation. I was not expecting to strike up a convo with this person... I don’t even want to know her name, but right now, at this very moment I need her. I need her to watch my computer so I can take about 20 paces in the opposite direction to grab a quick snack from the “Einstein Bros Bagel” Shoppe. I don’t like bagels per say I like their overgrown muffins… I should lay off of them because I am starting to get a muffin-top of my own.

“Hi,” I say after a short stint at the table. “How long do you expect to be here?”

As soon as I said this statement I wanted to retract it due to the response it may get. She probably thinks I am being an ass… she lent out her extra seat to a sad, college guy with no battery power and he already wants the whole outlet to himself. What a prick!

“Oh, probably 30 more minutes or so.” She replied with a hint of Spanish-heritage, like the Latin lady from Modern Family. (I love that show!)

“Great!” I continued. “Would you mind watching my computer while I run around the corner to the Bagel Shoppe?”

“No problem,” she responded. “Sure!”

Now remember, I don’t even know this girl’s name? All I know is she has conficasted my favorite waiting table and she may be hurtin’ for money and I will come back and all my stuff will be gone, including my computer which has the hard files with all my research for my Communication Capstone paper... then I don't graduate in May.. NO!

“What was I thinking,” I thought to myself as I stood in line at the Bagel shop.

“What would you like, Sir?”

I stood there thinking to myself, already having my phone in my hand ready to call campus police on the pink toed bandit who was waiting for me to gain my trust and take off with my HP Laptop complete with intel Centrino Duo chip!

“Sir?” the lady behind the counter repeated.

“Oh, a chocolate muffin please.” I said. “Oh and two waters.”

I went ahead and got another water for pink toed, Hispanic chick for watching my things at MY table.

“That will be $5.05”

I hand her my debit card and head back, quickly to the table hoping and praying she was still there and all my things would be there was well.

I felt like a total ass for doubting the kindness of a stranger.

I sat in my seat and reached over with the extra water.

“Thank you for watching my stuff” I said.

“Oh wow!” she replied. “Thank you!”

So, lesson learned, no matter how much life sucks and you feel like you can’t trust people… there are some people out there… some people who are nice, trustworthy people. So, whenever my little boy gets screwed over by a little friend at school I will be sure to tell him the story of the Hispanic chick with the pink toes.

Time! There's never any time!

2010-03-29T19:01:00.006-04:00

Sometimes I feel like "Jessie Spano" from Saved By the Bell...

Although, there are many similiarities I am lacking, but the things that stand out the most are how often I say...

"Time, there's never any time!"

Although, I never applied to Stanford... the amount of Starbucks I consume would probably be the amount of pills she was taking... I guess I am addicted to caffine.

I am constantly finding myself having to think three steps ahead because of work, school and family. It is really hard juggling everything and finding time to fit everything in...

Even finding a day to schedule getting my hair cut, having the oil changed in my car or running to pick up the dry cleaning has to be minutly scheduled due to everything going on...

I, thankfully, and hopefully, will be able to mark one off of that list come this May. I will be officially graduating from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor's degree in Communication. It feels like the day will never get here and tonight my wife decided to be the voice of reason for me when I almost skipped my Economics class...

I sit in my chair in my Statistics class and my professer tells us all he will see us on Wednesday... I reach down to pack up by red, Northface book bag. I put my calculator in the front, zipper pocket and proceed to stuff all the notes I so dilligently took during the class. I then reach over to my gray, Blackberry smartphone and proceed to text my wife, Laura...

"I will see you shortly!"

I almost immediatley recieve a message in return - BUUZZZZZ (my phone is almost always on vibrate.)

"Why?"

I start to wonder, why am I leaving class early? But, then I know it isn't just because my day had been hellishly long, or I was tired or even that I needed to go to the bathroom... I was looking for any really good excuse to leave campus... was I feeling sick, no. Oh! I wanna see my family. I want to tuck my little munchkin into bed and rock him to sleep before he gets to big for us to do that.

I text back, "B/c I said."

"Was class cancelled?" she replied.

I thought, should I lie? Do I tell the truth? The angel and devil were sitting on each side of my Black, Calvin Klein sweater... the devil kept turning my cap backwards and the angel was tryin to fix it back... I thought...I am an honest person and don't want to lie..

"No," I typed

":/"

I went ahead and called her and she played the "voice of reason" or "the bad guy" as she would call it. I wasn't mad at her... I was disappointed. Disappointed because I want to be finished with school... I want to be home.. I am tired of the whole college scene. I am too old for this.

I mean I wake up at 6am... am out of the house by 7am with Mauldin in tow and to work by 8am. My days feel so long during the week, but the weekends just seem to fly by as if they never even happened at all.

The amount of time I am alotted with my family is such a sad amount. I cannot believe how we all do what we do day after day. If you think about it... we all work so hard during our younger years dating... trying to find someone suitable to marry... then you either both work of just one of you, but no matter what you are still apart. The hours just do not justify... however, if we didn't work we wouldn't be able to have a roof over our heads, food, etc... the essentials to survive are no longer good enough. We all must have cars, enough money to buy nice clothes, etc... The vicous cycle goes on and on and all the while you are working to survive you work even harder to maintain the relationships you worked so very hard to find in the first place. A lot of people use their weekends for "girl's nights out" or "guy's weekends" away from their wives... Why? I barely get anytime with my wife and son as it is! I added it up and right now my wife and I actually get to spend, during the five-day work week, a total sum of 22 hours, waking hours to be with each other... even less I get to spend with my child! It's insane.

Now what is my whole point in this seemingly bitter diatribe? None, none at all... but isn't that what blogs are for? Thoughts on a screen...

Well, the only solace I gain from this is I am about to go to my Econ class and learn about the economy system in India. Really? May 5th hurry... please!

Just say mommy!

2010-03-16T21:46:00.006-04:00

Just say mommy…

Yesterday morning, upon waking up around 7:00 am (post DST), I strolled into my son’s dimly lit bedroom and saw him standing in his crib, his hair disheveled from burying his head in his bumper.

“Good mornin’ little man, did you sleep well?” I asked, as if I were expecting to receive an honest answer… I pause as I look at my little boy.

“Dada?” he says as he points at the pictures of us on his photo-memory board.

“Yes, there’s da-da…” I say. “And, there’s momma, and there’s Mauldin!”

He smiles a gummy-grin with a hint of two tiny teeth poking out of his bottom gum. "You wanna go see mommy?"

He points out the door, “Da!”

I look down and step over numerous books and colored blocks littering his bedroom floor… with Mauldin wrapped snuggly around my neck I head out the door.

As I round the corner to our room I see a light has been turned on and I hear water running…
I hear a voice and two large white doors open outward… it’s my wife!

“Good morning!” says Laura. She is wrapped in only a towel obviously ready for her morning shower.

“Did my little boy have a good night sleep?”

“Dadadadada,” replies Mauldin.

“Yes, he seems to be in good spirits despite..” I say, I reach over and grab a tissue from the box of Kleenex on our dresser.

“Here,” I say as I reach out to Laura.

“Despite his runny nose?” Laura said finishing my sentence.

“Yes, mommy, we have a runny nose.” I followed as I watched her wipe the nasty concoction of goo from our child’s nostrils.

Mauldin expressed his dislike by his face turning red and his sad pout.

We always try to occupy Mauldin with the art of distraction whenever he is upset…
“Mauldin, say mama!”

He looked at me with his sad eyes, filled with tears… one slowly moved down his cheek and he quickly responded with a coy little smile…

“Dad-de!”

One day at a time...

Ironing out the wrinkles

2010-03-11T19:52:00.007-05:00

It is no secret that the economy has hit everyone hard in certain ways… Almost every family I know has cut back in one way or another.

We have done our share to save, for example, my wife fights her way through couponmom.com and the Sunday paper, on the weekends, to locate the different brands we buy. Luckily for us, this is the last month, for a while we will need to purchase any formula! I find it so impressive when we go to the grocery store and after all is said and done we have saved close to if not more than $50 off what our regular bill would have been.
Pinchin’ our pennies led us to forgo the fun movie channels on our Dish Network Satellite. We have since enrolled in Netflix and in doing so saved us about $60 per month.

We have resorted to ironing our dress clothes for work. I have numerous meetings I have to go to each week and so I need to have pressed and starched dress shirts readily available. We really like the cleaners we use. I drive up and they know me by name without even saying a word.
They are an asian couple, as most dry cleaners are and the wife has to be the nicest lady I’ve ever known.

“Oh hello, E-dic, how’s de baby?”

But, I certainly don’t get that type of reception when I drive up and the husband is there. I show up and he immediately goes to the cash register and heads back to get my clothes. He heads out, opens my car door (this is a drive-thru cleaners, by the way) puts the clothes in the back seat and hands me a receipt and tells me the amount I owe all without any type of salutation or greeting. I hand him my credit card, sign and am on my way. I can give “credit” he is pretty efficient without the banter of talking to customers. Maybe that’s just how his egg rolls!

Okay, I cannot take recognition doing our ironing, I have probably pressed three shirts in the two years my wife and I have been married, but I guess to her it is something she wants to do for her man. I wouldn’t want her out mowing the lawn. Don’t get me wrong, we are in no way making each other do certain duties, but this is how our marriage works!

I sit here typing this blog as my wife, so lovingly, sways back and forth in her long, gray pajama pants and blue school polo, hair twisted up in a sexy mess with her white pearl earrings still in her ears that she obviously has forgotten to take out from the work day. She painstakingly slides back and forth with her silver Shark iron in her right hand and a can of Niagara starch in her left. It seems just like yesterday that we received our iron as a gift from our wedding registry, we had no idea how much use it would of gotten.

“I like this shirt honey,” said my wife while holding a blue and white checked J.Crew shirt. “You should wear it more, it looks great on you!”

“Thanks babe,” I said. “You wouldn’t believe how old it is..”

“Well, I like it.” She replied turning and rubbin' her pregnant belly. “The bigger I get the more you should watch for this to end up on my side… Oh – Shhhed$#@!!!”

I turn and see the ironing board rocking back and forth in a swaying motion that of course set our very state-of-the-art iron Shark diving to the floor in a downward dive. Please understand we have hardwood in our bedroom and the end result to something like an iron falling on it cannot be a good one.

“Oh, are you okay?” I say while I look at Laura.

“Yes.” She replied, her face now a bit pink from the panic moment that just occurred.

I know I was hoping she was okay, but a large part of me was worried about our floor. Don’t get me wrong, I was so glad to know my wife hadn’t burnt herself, but I was almost equally curious if she had burnt the floor. The floor in our dining room has already been ruined from our dogs taking the opportunity to skip the outside pee route.

“How is it?” I carefully asked.

Laura is already sensitive from being pregnant, so I wanted to tread lightly and not make her feel any worse than she already felt. Besides, she was ironing MY shirts…

“It just left a little mark,” she said while bending down to feel the mark the Shark had gashed in our hardwood.

“Wait, what is that?” I asked.

“What?” she replied, “Oh…”

She bend down again, but this time her head went under the ironing board itself with the iron resting gingerly waiting to make another nose dive into our floor, but this time it would of gone right on Laura’s neck.

"It's just a white piece of.."

“Laura.” I said quietly and softly with my eye on hers.

“Yes?” she said while standing up and missing the board by the width of an American Express card.

“All I need for you to do is bump that, burn yourself, and we are off to the ER!”

She looked at me smiling that smile she usually gives me when she knows she has done something to irritate me.

We are certainly trying to save money, but my wife better be more careful or she may end up seriously injured from “The Shark!”

A mess is what my son does best!

2010-02-23T19:41:00.004-05:00

The time has come… well it seems like it arrived via a terminal at Hartsfield International Airport. I never believed it when people used the cliché that “time flies,” but it is such a true statement.

In about 30 days my son will officially be considered a toddler. On March 21st our little boy will be 12 months old aka one-year old. How did this happen? I apparently haven’t been paying attention, but the months whizzed by without as much as a word, except for “da-da.” (“Mama is soon to follow).

Try to picture this: I sit around in our den, our once beautifully decorated den, and the floor is covered in a wide arrangement of toys and books. The hardwood floors are hidden by the soft and cushiony floor mats we bought from Target to soften the blow when our little boy plops his butt down on the floor from cruising around our furniture. I look at my wife as she is cooking us dinner in the kitchen.

“Remember what our house used to look like babe?”

“Yep, but at the same time I have almost forgot,” said Laura.

The coffee table coasters and side tables all have been stripped of the pictures that used to sit so effortlessly upon them showcasing our many travels and endeavors. We have to push back all the remotes, pictures and books we do leave out because MJ is tall enough now to reach. (He really enjoys changing the channels). The knobs on the drawers and cabinets are starting to disappear, but reappear in his lap while he sits on the hardwood and bangs with a sweet smile vying for our attention of “look what I did mom and dad! I can remove cabinet hardware!” All in all we have a long way to go when it comes to total baby proofing… ummm excuse me, toddler proofing.

We were working on my daughter's new room and Mauldin decided he needed to assist with unpacking the clothes we have for her... It was a mess and it took everything within me to just let him do it to explore, play and be a little boy. I think I did a pretty good job... I sit back a lot and just let him do what he wants, that is if what he is doing is safe!

There are a hefty amount of toys in our home as well… although, we do clean up as soon as he is put to bed, but like clockwork all the toys are back in full view by the time I set foot in the door. Not all the toys mind you because our son is a very blessed child and if all the toys were out then we wouldn’t have anywhere to walk! I can’t even start to imagine what our home will look like as soon as our sweet little girl arrives on the scene.

I have tried to accept the clutter of the toys and slowly I am, but it is hard to forget how great our home once looked before our little boy came into our lives. I will say though, the clutter sure is a small price to pay when I see our handsome little boy playing in the floor acting as if he is talking on his plastic, make believe, Buzz Lightyear cell phone. He holds the phone to his ear, upside down, and looks at you with those piercing blue eyes and utters “da-da” … and my heart just melts. I can’t help but reach down to the floor and place myself next to him and begin to play too.

Sometimes the smallest moments can change your mind about everything.

But, I wasn't finished with that daddy...

2010-02-17T19:03:00.005-05:00

“What do you wanna do today?” My wife says while our little boy sits so playfully in between us in our bed on a cold Saturday morning.

“Eric?” she obviously was talking to me and not our son, Mauldin.

“Oh, I thought you were talking to him,” I reply as I glance down at our little boy who is half way through his early-morning apple juice. He likes to drink his juice and watch Playhouse Disney. He is a multitasker, that’s just how he rolls.

“Well, I guess I kinda was talking to you both, but the only thing he can say is Da-da…” my wife says with a hint of sarcasm and glee.

As I think about the fun retort I just stop myself because our son may be only 10 months, going on 11, but he is pretty sharp and one day soon he will start repeating what we say… and my dirty thoughts weren’t something I want coming out of his toothless chops. As I reach down to grab his empty juice cup he looks at me with the saddest face and a frown that could melt the heart of The Heat Miser.

I'm sure I know what was going through Mauldin's mind - "But, I wasn't finished with that daddy!" The truth is he was done, he was sucking air... but I guess he likes chewing on the spout. Just as I start to laugh at this face I see a hint of white on his lower gum. Please understand our son, Mauldin is 10 months old and has yet to cut a tooth, but has been teething since, well birth. New parents please understand… even if your child is drooling a lot it doesn’t necessarily mean he/she is teething.

It is and has been for a long time a huge, huge and very large pet peeve for anyone to put their fingers in my child’s mouth. I understand when the doctor does it, or my wife or myself… but other people who have germy hands it is just something I cringe just thinking about. However, for this day it was something that had to be done and I took the opportunity to “feel around for evidence of some baby teeth.”

“So, do you feel anything…” my wife quickly asks.

“Well, I think, I think… I think I can feel something…” I replied.

“Let me check,” said Laura.

She picked up our little boy, still in mid-frown from the sippy cup being taken away and now one of his favorite shows, Charlie & Lola, is on and we are taking him away from it… I know, we are terrible parents.

“Oh my… goodness…” said Laura. “Our baby has cut his first tooth.”

I immediately went to turn on all the lamps in our room so I could get a good look at this so-called tooth.

“Do you not believe me?” said Laura.

“Yes, my dear,” I replied “but can I just look at it? I wanna see it too!”

I sat there and looked as I asked our little man to open wide, as if he actually knew what I was asking him to do.

“Can daddy check to see your tooth?” And, just like that I saw the little white rectangle sticking out of his lower gum as if it were there hiding all along and just waiting for us to discover it!

“Well, hello there my little friend… how long have you been there?”

So, there it is, like I said… the whole tooth and nothing, but the tooth. More to come, I’m sure!

Is he asleep?

2010-02-09T20:16:00.006-05:00

I cannot remember the last time I was able to get eight hours of complete and uninterrupted sleep. The idea that I used to sleep that much boggles every fiber of my being. I guess it has been 10 months, actually…

I used to turn over to my wife in the wee hours of the morning…

“How’s he doin’?” I whisper.

“He’s perfect.” My wife replies… “Go back to sleep.”

I hear the sweet lullaby music through Mauldin’s little monitor. The blue light illuminates our bedroom with it’s blaring, yet soft light… one wall bathed in a blue glow. I have gotten so used to the music that I barely hear it anymore. Although, I will notice if it stops.

“Did you put it on repeat?” my wife quickly asks.

“I thought I did,” I replied. “Crap!”

I throw the covers off and tiptoe on our cold, hardwood floor and make my way to the hallway. The carpet is a warm change from our room. I tend to have the ability to stealthfully enter his room, restart his music and walkout without stirring a mouse or a 10-month old boy.

The hard part is trying to get out of his room without stepping on and activating any of his toys!
“Mooooo!” or “whoo hoo!” would suddenly sound along with a few choice four letter words from my mouth. Luckily that hasn’t happened… my James Bond or Mission Impossible moves are pretty good.

Our son has graced us with the ability to sleep though the night without waking up, crying, wet or anything else that might cause a 10-month old cause to scream at 3am.

I haven’t known what to do… I used to wake up in the middle of the night for so long – I wake up now at 6am and don’t feel totally rested… why is that? I sleep yet I don’t feel rested? Ironic,

don’t you think?

I guess I should enjoy the uninterrupted snoozing because come June our lives will be turned into the late night feedings and rocking cycle again.

I thought the days or should I say nights of tired eyes was over… I was wrong, so wrong.

But, it will be so worth it!

Where has the time gone?

2010-02-02T21:57:00.006-05:00

Our little boy is growing up at an accelerated rate, so it seems.

“Mauldin no!” I say… constantly.

Where has the time gone? I feel like someone has taken a remote and pushed fast forward.

“Mauldin, what did we say?” I continue as he stops in his tracks on his way to the dog bed… as soon as I look away he turns his little butt around and heads right back to his previous direction of naughtiness. Our son has a weird fascination with our pets... he loves them. As soon as he heads their way our little Westie, Andy, runs in fear of being pummelled by a 18lb 10 month old!

I feel as if every day he accomplishes something new. Thankfully I have been around to see each one surface. I was there when Mauldin said “Da-da” as his first word, which I might add is one of the only things he says with a repeating vengeance.

“Mauldin,” I repeat and head over to pick him up and replace him away from the dog bowls full of water. “I said no to the dog bowls.” He loves getting into their bowls. I came home today and my wife informed me...

"Go say hello to your son and don't even ask me why he is wet!"

"What?" I retorted.

"I looked away for a second and he was "in" Andy's bowl," Laura explained.

The kid can officially climb the stairs with no assistance, he is cruising like nobody’s business, the child is eating solid foods and feeding himself, holding his bottle on his own and clapping! The boy claps, patty cake is a fun game he likes to play.

Not only is Mauldin about to have a birthday, his first birthday mind you, but we will soon be another plus one to the Skates family unit.
We are now coming up on the 20 week mark for our little girl… Elle will be here before we know it and we are so unprepared. It seems as if with Mauldin we had tons of diapers, wipes, clothes, etc… we have a couple of bags of clothes for our little princess, but her nursery is still a guest room, no bedding has been purchased, what is going on? We are usually so far ahead, we are planners, this is so out of our character, but the urgency just isn’t … I don’t know, around as much as it was the first time. We are so much more laid back with this pregnancy!

I guess the freakout with happen after we come home with our shiny, brand new, bouncing baby girl.

It still hasn’t totally hit me yet. I assume when it does you may find me on the floor.

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone.

"Mauldin what did I say about the dog beds?"

It's a girl!

2010-01-11T08:44:00.004-05:00

I guess I should start saving... honestly, I don't know how...

1. I am going to handle my little girl dating and

2. I don't know how I will be able to afford her wedding.

Yes, it is official, the Mrs. and I will be having a little girl come this summer!

Epic. Here is a picture of our beauty, Elle.

Superior awardage...

2009-12-01T14:41:00.008-05:00

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:

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

Are you the Gate Keeper?

2009-11-30T18:14:00.005-05:00

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...

2009-11-16T17:51:00.009-05:00

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

2009-10-20T13:36:00.001-04:00

Probably won't win father of the year!

Our strong lil' man...

2009-10-12T18:00:00.003-04:00

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?

2009-10-08T12:53:00.010-04:00

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!

2009-10-02T12:28:00.016-04:00

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

2009-09-15T12:34:00.002-04:00

Why is sand so scratchy?

2009-09-11T09:47:00.005-04:00

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?

2009-09-01T11:58:00.010-04:00

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?

2009-08-21T13:29:00.012-04:00

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

2009-08-17T18:10:00.012-04:00

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"

2009-08-12T13:17:00.006-04:00

"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

2009-08-11T16:13:00.010-04:00

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?

2009-08-04T15:38:00.008-04:00

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?

2009-08-03T14:26:00.008-04:00

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

2009-07-31T13:23:00.005-04:00

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

2009-07-30T13:10:00.008-04:00

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.

2009-07-22T20:00:00.014-04:00

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!

2009-07-17T21:59:00.007-04:00

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

2009-07-13T20:45:00.009-04:00

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

2009-07-01T10:35:00.006-04:00

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?

2009-06-30T12:49:00.007-04:00

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.

2009-06-26T13:09:00.011-04:00

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

2009-06-24T15:08:00.002-04:00

A family left out in the heat...

2009-06-22T11:00:00.016-04:00

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...

2009-06-19T12:16:00.006-04:00

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!

2009-06-19T08:38:00.008-04:00

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!

No more newborns...

2009-06-15T10:16:00.009-04:00

It has happened.

We knew it would, but it just kind of crept up on us.

What am I talking about you ask?

Mauldin, our almost three month old son, has officially graduated from his newborn diapers (N’s) to ones. The little man has grown so fast in the past few weeks and we didn’t even notice until he started peeing on his clothes because his diapers could no longer hold his excretments! Okay, that is kinda gross when I say it like that. Let’s just say his pee was seeping out and so it was time for something bigger.

“Eric, can you replace all the diapers with the new ones?” my wife asked me so sweetly.

She was busy nursing him. He was lying there nourishing his body so that he can grow into the next stage of diapers. The 2’s! It won’t be long before we will actually have to start buying diapers again. Laura, my wife, and I stocked up on diapers when she was pregnant so that we wouldn’t have to be buying diapers so often. Well, our stock has started depleting right before our very eyes.

"Maybe we can make it to September!" I said with a hopeful disdane.

"I'm sure we can.. he is only what?"

"Ten pounds" said Laura, finishing my sentence.

"Alright then! He is ten pounds and 1's diapers are for ten to 14 lbs, right?" I continued.

"Yes, that is correct." Laura said.

She was sitting on our couch with Mauldin covering up some of the best parts, might I add. She had on khacki shorts, a pink shirt and a head band with skull and cross bones on it.

"I noticed you wore your belle band today!"

"Ouch!" she yelped! "Yes, thank you. Does it look okay?"

"What's wrong?" I recalled her previous retortment.

"He chomped on my ..." she stopped in mid sentence and looked down at our little hungry hippo.

"If you are going to act like that, sir, no more for you."

Mauldin laid there with no regret on his face what-so-ever... it was if he was like...

"Yah, sure.. you talk all big and bad.. bring it on mom!"

"I can't believe how big he is..." I said.

"You said that already..." said Laura looking at me as if I was losing my mind to early Alzheimer's.

"Well it's true!" I replied matter of factly! "Our little man is growing up so darn fast... our little newborn is gonna be our little three month old here in a few days!"

"Buuurrrrp!"

Mauldin had finished his afternoon lunch. He sat in his mommy lap with a huge sense of accomplishment across his face... as well as a little drool. The drool slowly dripped onto his little green and blue stripped onesie that read "I love mommy."

"Mauldin!" Laura exclaimed in the I'm surprised, but I'm really not surprised mommy voice! "Well, our little man is certainly growing up just like his daddy!"

All I could do was stand there and beam with pride.

"Yep!" I said... "I'm so proud!"

Check out my latest article on my column for New Dads at Examiner.com.

What would Mauldin do?

2009-06-12T14:22:00.004-04:00

Well, it's finally Friday, y'all!

I am really excited about the weekend because it is the time that I get to spend with both my mommy and daddy at the same time. I am sad when daddy is at work all day... but mommy is a lot of fun and lets me watch Mickey Mouse Club House and Sesame Street!

Maybe mom and dad will take me to play in the pool again... that was fun!

Also, it is my mommy's birthday on Sunday...

So, happy birthday, mommy!

Enjoy your weekend everyone - stay safe and when you think about doing something bad... just say -"what would Mauldin do?"

Did you pack his DVD's?

2009-06-08T10:37:00.007-04:00

“Did you remember to pack his Baby Neptune DVD?” I asked my wife Laura as I strolled through the kitchen on my way to the garage door.

The kitchen was so clean, the counters did not have random bills, magazines and pictures on it. The sink was empty from all glasses and dishes. It was a clear sign that either a maid had been here or we were about to go out of town. We always try and clean the house up a little bit right before we leave so we don’t come home to a mess. This weekend we were heading to one of our favorite getaways, Chateau Elan. Chateau Elan is a local Atlanta Spa, and winery, that we go to on special occasions and this upcoming occasion was none other than our one-year wedding anniversary.

“Oh! Oops, no I forgot!” my wife Laura exclaimed. “Can you get it?”

“It’s okay,” I said while holding Mauldin. He was resting on my right shoulder. I had just changed him into a little white onesie that had little green alligators showcased randomly.

“Here,” I said; handing off Mauldin like he was a bag of groceries from Publix.

“Go ahead and be putting him in his car seat carrier and I will go get it.”

“Sounds good.” Said Laura. She took Mauldin and with her other free hand pushed her oversized, black sunglasses up onto the top of her head in effort to see in the darkness that was our house. As I hit the stairs running I could hear her baby talking to our son, Mauldin, just in a way that only the mother of my own child could do and it not be insanely annoying.

(Insert cutesy, high pitch voice)

“Are you ready to go to Nana & Papa’s?” she started.

“Oh yes you are, oh yes, we are going to be happy aren’t we? Uh hu! Yes, yes, yes!”

Her voice trailed off the closer to the nursery I reached. I had to get this video for him because it seriously is one of the only videos he really pays attention to… Of course, we are not sure what is going through his mind, but we expect it is something knowledgeable and very advanced. (insert sarcasm).

I walked into my son’s nursery and the room is lit up, on the left side of the room, because the window blinds were open and the mid-morning sun was shining through. It was if the light was trying to reach out to Mauldin’s closet. The light beams hit the floor and bent up the white closet doors. The illumination reached up halfway; highlighting some of his cute clothes through the crack in the middle of the two doors. You could see hints of blue, red and yellow from a pair of overalls that showcase Winnie-the-Pooh. He wore it during his first photo session at Babies R-us. Whenever I see them I immediately crack a smile because I am reminded of how tiny he was that day…

I reached out… the light cast on my right arm as I opened the portable DVD player that rest on top of the antique cabinet that is home to many receiving blankets, sheets and sleepers. To my dismay the DVD was not there, but as I scanned the top of the dresser I saw it lying in the middle of Baby Bach and Baby Monet. It struck me, “what would it hurt to bring all three DVD’s?” I like to make sure he has as many comforts from home as I can. We were told not to bring diapers, blankets or wipes because my in-laws had all this in stock at their home. My in-laws have three grandchildren so the amount of diapers they keep on hand is staggering. However, each child is a different age, 4 ½, 2 ½ and 11 weeks, so, I’m sure, it does come with a bit of financial complication, but I just don’t ask questions... I am appreciative. My parents are the same way… thank the Lord for caring Grandparents. We packed the little man clothes and breast milk and his DVD’s.

I contemplated packing more, just in case, but decided not to and turned and headed for the door ready to hit the road so my wife, Laura, and I could make it to our destination, Chateau Elan. This would be the first time we would be leaving Mauldin over night. It hit me on the way down the stairs, we have to leave the little guy… we haven’t left him over night before… I kept saying this in my head over and over.

“It is going to be okay.” Laura said.

“What?” I replied.

“He is going to be alright. I know you,” She continued… “I know what you are thinking.”

I stood there holding three Disney Baby Einstein DVD’s and my grip was growing more and more firm as if it were a metaphor for Mauldin and not wanting to let go.

“He is ready to go and so am I.” Laura said.

I nodded with an affirmative “Yes.”

Laura grasped my left hand and leaned in and kissed me. It was at that moment that I knew I had nothing to worry about. My wife has the uncanny knack to always put my mind at ease no matter the circumstance. So, what happened? Well, lets just say the weekend was perfect, well we did miss our exit going to Chateau Elan and going to Laura's parents house, but I will say if that was the only hiccup our weekend exalted then I will say it was close to perfect.

But, you can blame the "exit" issue on me... well not totally on me... it was a joint oversight.

It's Friday and there's a dog on my shirt!

2009-06-05T12:20:00.007-04:00

Hey Everybody! It's Mauldin again...

I thought I would help daddy out and guest post today... why?

It's Friday and I wanted to wish you all a safe and wonderful weekend full of spontaneity and fun!

I know I will certainly have a good time because when you start out a weekend wearing a dog on your shirt you know things can always get better!

Comon', what can I say... I haven't experienced that much... I'm 11 weeks old, but I expect a joyous weekend! I expect to eat, sleep... maybe poop and pee a little... I always enjoy my tv shows and dvds... all of which can be found on my Amazon.com wish list, if you were wondering...

I digress...

Cheers!

I must say...

2009-06-03T09:47:00.004-04:00

I’m a very lucky man.

I just want to take a moment, to thank my wife, for marrying me.

This weekend, on June 7^th to be exact, will mark the day where my best friend and I tied the knot. This Sunday will be our 1 year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe how fast a year has gone by, but I have enjoyed every minute of being married to the one person who brings out the best in me. I am a very lucky man and I hope Laura knows how much I love her.

I am very, very excited about celebrating our 1 year anniversary, this weekend.

My wife is the kind of woman who is perfect, so perfect in fact I have to sometimes remind myself I am not living in a dream... the idea of her is unfathomable! We made such a beautiful child... Mauldin is.. well, perfect! I said it once, but will say it again... I am a very lucky man to be married to such a loving, caring, smart, beautiful, okay, okay...

Laura, I love you. That is basically what I meant to say at the beginning.

Thank you for marrying me. I am honored to be your husband. I love you.

Eric

This much closer to working at the Daily Planet...

2009-06-02T09:52:00.009-04:00

Okay, so my goals are a little out there, but comon’, can you blame me for wanting to be a star reporter at one of the most prestigious news authorities in the world, can yah?

Who cares if the Daily Planet isn’t totally real… it’s real to me, it’s real to me.

All joking aside…

I, Eric Skates, applied to write for Examiner.com. Examiner.com is a news site based in Denver, Colorado that allows local citizen journalists to share their city-based knowledge on a blog-like platform, in over 60 cities in the United States.

I was introduced to this site from my good buddy, Ron over at Clark Kent’s Lunch Box. (Thanks man).

In July of 2008 I began my blog, the ever-popular, http://www.ohmygodimadaddy.blogspot.com, and truly found my love for writing. I, of course, will continue with my blog… I love it! It keeps me sane. With that said, I took the initiative and decided to apply as the Atlanta New Dads Examiner. I never, in a million, no, make that a trillion years, thought they would accept my application. Yes, I am a new father, so I do fit that criteria, but my writing skills… would they be good enough? I don’t have the writing experience that I would need to maintain a well-written column, or do I? I figured, if I don’t try… I will always wonder…

I would regret not trying… kind of like I regret not running cross-country in high school. (I would of kicked ass.) Or, even more, I would of kicked even more butt at diving. But, I digress… we must not dwell on the past!

So, I guess here goes nothing… here is my stab at influencing all the young and rookie dads in the Atlanta Metro Area… (and beyond, someday).

Check me out... look me up, by name, at http://www.examiner.com/atlanta

I should start my debut on the site sometime in the middle of June!

Big brother is watching....

2009-05-19T13:04:00.007-04:00

No matter how much I try; I cannot read a story, all the way through, to Mauldin. Well, I can read it all the way through, but the problem is he is asleep about half way through it. Now, I am not totally complaining because it gets him to sleep, but is he still soaking up the literary knowledge? I am not sure why, but it seems that his little mind cannot seem to take in all that valuable data. He cannot stay awake to the end to find out what happens! By the time I am done reading, say… “The Pokey Little Puppy,” “The Little Red Hen” or the story of “Peter Pan” he is sawing some logs right in my arms. We have a myriad of little golden books, board books and Mother Goose, nursery rhythms, that we keep in his nursery. I am not sure if I am boring the little man or if the sound of my voice is soothing to him. I would like to think it was soothing, but who knows…

When I start the story it is usually while he is screaming and aiming to break out of his swaddle. The little dude is a regular Houdini and can always find a way to get an arm out or a leg.

The other day I started trying to read Harry Potter to him, but, I have to let go of the book while trying to reposition him in my arms, so it didn’t pan out very well. He is a squirmy little guy when he is upset and the book folds back and I keep losing my place, so I am gonna have to wait until he can sit in my lap on his own without me having to restrain him.

Back to the reading…

I have decided to stick to a little bit smaller books so that I do not have to keep starting over. It really makes me laugh though because some of these books were such a big part of my childhood. In my youth my mom would always have these books around for us. I distinctly remember her reading to me about “Pokey” the little puppy and the like... as well as the aforementioned “Little Red Hen.” Now, when I was younger this book seemed to be a lot more entertaining, as did “The Pokey Little Puppy.” The more and more I read them, the more and more I figure out some of these morals, in the stories, are out of whack! I mean they are kind of comical actually! The little puppy, Pokey, was a selfish little bast…uhmmm guy… his little friends followed the rules… but they still got in trouble and he ended up getting dessert a lot more than they did, however, at the end he didn’t get to have dessert, but all the other little puppies did – but if you think about it Pokey got to eat dessert like 3x more than the others… and as his punishment.. he had to sleep alone. He did everything else by himself and now he gets to sleep alone.. I am sure this did not faze him one bit.

Now moving on to “The Little Red Hen.” There is a story about adversity and trying to overcome gender stereotypes and roles. I bet a whole lot of research and psychology books can be written just about this little story. The Hen wanted to plant a seed, grow some wheat so she could get some flour to bake some bread, but none of the other animals wanted to help her in her tasks. So, in essence, she was a work-a-holic with no friends and in the end she didn’t let any of her so-called barn-yard friends partake in the sweet bread she had baked… The other animals were probably like fine, bitch, I’ll go buy my own bread while I play my fiddle. What lesson did we learn here? Not sure. LOL!

I have found reading to him is one sure way to get him to go to bed or take a nap, most nights. Now, here is a tip, if some of you were unaware of this. Baby monitors are not very private, apparently. "Big Brother" is always watching... or should I say "Big Sister." The other night I found out that our house has a major invasion of our privacy… and by accident no less. My sister-in-law, Laura’s sister, Jennifer, lives down the street and her little girl, our niece, Annagrace, had their monitor, and turns out when switched the frequency and it gave them a window into Mauldin’s nursery. Now, granted, this is by accident, but who says they will not just do it just to appease Annagrace so she can see and hear her little cousin? I know Jenn reads this so this is basically a plea to say…”please don’t.” I also am saying this for my own well being because whenever I read to Mauldin or sing to him it is a sort of private affair, not to mention, I cannot sing all that well… especially cheesy little tunes like “do re mi” and “under the sea.” Don’t judge me. I do this though because it really helps in him falling to sleep… (don't revoke my man-card) when the reading doesn’t help. Moreover, when I read to him I tend to find myself doing “voices” of the characters and not in a cool “oh wow you should do this for a job way.” It is very amateur and embarrassing if heard by any others. So, if you have a baby monitor and you think what you say in your home is private… think again. Think again.

Comon' Ride the train...

2009-05-08T14:18:00.002-04:00

Mauldin says "Happy Friday!"

Movie Character Meme

2009-04-29T09:25:00.008-04:00

This meme was sent to me from none other than the famous Clark Kent from Clark Kent's Lunchbox! He bestowed upon me the task to introduce my picks for the 10 best movie characters... here is what I chose..

Reed Richards of The Fantastic Four

Harry Potter of the Harry Potter series

Andrew Largeman of Garden State

Peter Parker in Spider-man movies

Harry Tasker from True Lies

Clark Kent/Superman

John Smith of Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Ferris Buller of Ferris Buller's Day off

Han Solo of Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back

Mikey Walsh from The Goonies

My picks to carry on the legacy are...

ivegasdad

wise young mommy

at home dad

fit dad

raging dad

Mauldin says "Have a great weekend!"

2009-04-24T16:14:00.002-04:00

Just a lil' funny video for your day...

2009-04-23T16:16:00.001-04:00

The curious case of the receding hairline...

2009-04-23T14:48:00.006-04:00

Okay, so Mauldin has started losing his hair…

We laughed about his cousin, Grant, whenever this happened to him. The “skullet” is almost in full force.

Mauldin actually came out with a full head of hair and now we are lucky for him to have a decent comb over… Laura washed his head, a couple of days ago, and the little brush ended up with almost ½ of what was on his head! I know, I know, it will grow back… and yes, cradle cap, blah blah blah, we have heard it all..

But, can’t I just complain about it? I mean we are gonna have to go buy head-n-shoulders for our lil' man! He has dandruff worse than... well it's bad.

Honestly, he has a really cute face so it doesn’t really matter…

Looking forward, I know he will have a full head of hair again, some day, I just wish that day was sooner than later. One second thought, we should have had his spring pictures taken sooner…

Oh well, we still have his baby announcement photo to be taken… guess we will have to make do.

Do they have baby Rogaine? Just kiddin!

29

2009-04-16T12:12:00.008-04:00

It occurred to me, the other day, on Easter, that I was hitting a major milestone along with my son… I was having my 29^th Easter and my son was having his first!

A few days prior, to Easter, I had my 29^th birthday. Now, please understand, I know 29 is just a number, but coming to grips with the idea that I was actually that much closer to 30 kinda freaked me out.

Has my hair really receded that much? Has my waistline grown more? Is my back going out more than normal? I can say yes to two of the three and I won’t specify which ones. Hint: I will say that I noticed my age the other day when I went to the gym… I haven’t worked out pretty much since Mauldin arrived. I certainly haven’t had the time, but Laura is losing weight faster than the speed of light. However, it seems I am gaining what she is losing. I walked into the gym and proceeded to hop on the nearest treadmill… I wanted to do the elliptical machine, but all were taken at that moment. Of course, the machine I want to use is… well, in use. I run on the treadmill for approx. 10 minutes, give or take a second to tie my shoe… and head over to the bike machine because the Elliptical was still being used. It would be my luck as soon as I start the bike someone finishes up on the Elliptical machine and someone else hops on right away… I had no idea they were so damn popular! Anyway, I ride the bike for another 15 minutes and head home… My muscles were already burning from that small amount of cardio – what is wrong with me? I used to run a six minute mile, although, the key word was “used” to. The next day, while I am at work… I take a deep breath and “Ohh,” my back… some muscle, I hadn’t used in a while decided he was pissed off and needed a moment to flare up and screw up my day…. Sorry, week.

Now, it also occurred to me, while on said treadmill, Mauldin and I are 28 years and some days apart… now I guess that makes me qualified to say “trust me, I’ve been there” and “because I said so…” when he gets old enough to ask me questions, but honestly, when you think about it, I’m a full-blown adult! At least, I am considered one by law, although, I don’t feel it. My mother-in-law, Carol, gave me a gift card to Abercrombie and, although, it is a very nice gift, should I still be wearing Abercrombie? I walk into the store and gag at the amount of cologne they spray in the air and are, more often than none, given shifty and dodgy looks by the other patrons and employees of the store. I mean I know I am not going to switch over to denim from Sears or JC Penny, but I don’t want to be one of those parents who walks around still wearing stupid clothes that I wore when I was 22! I have some choice t-shirts that I think are pretty funny, but I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing out in public, anymore.

For example:

Horn if you’re Honky

Original Foreplay

I’m naked under this shirt

Nebraska: It’s a great shukin’ state

I mean, my wife and I actually made an agreement, at 26, to cease and desist shopping at certain retailers after 28, because it just makes us feel old when we go in there… But, am I really there? Will someone nominate me to the show “What Not To Wear?”

I am seriously not sure if I would feel comfortable having such restriction just because of my age… however, when we are out and about we see parents who have piercings in odd places and baggy jeans past their butt with huge chains, etc… while strolling through Target with their children in tow. I do not wanna be “those parents.”

So, I am currently working on sifting through my closet to retire many of my favorite and most comfortable T’s…

I cannot believe I am (and I quote) “pushing 30.” Lord give me strength.

P.S. – my back is much better, so gym, here I come! (and for the record, I workout with my shirt on... stupid Bo-flex commercials...)

Growin' like a weed

2009-04-14T10:28:00.008-04:00

Mauldin sure is growing... how do we know for sure?

He can actually wear "Newborn" clothes now; versus only wearing premie stuff! Our lil' man is still in premie diapers, however. Saturday, April 18th he will be officially four weeks old!

Here are some recent pictures of him. Enjoy!

I deserve a gold star!

2009-04-08T16:17:00.007-04:00

“Honey, can you take him?” whispered my wife, Laura, to me, as I lay in the bed, motionless, and donked-out! I was completely oblivious to any sound… all of a sudden I hear, vaguely, someone calling my name… I was away in dreamland… not sure what I was dreaming… but then I began to fall back into a state somewhere between asleep and awake..

“Eric? Eric…” continues Laura.

“aheummm???” I reply, half muffled, my face buried in the sheets and a warm, soft pillow. The bed was so warm.. I reach my arm out and the air in our room was bitterly cold compared to the temperature under the covers.

It is 3:00 A.M. and Laura has just finished nursing Mauldin and is ready to take on the slumber beast. I finally figure out what is going on and I immediately sit up.

“Can you take him?” she said. “Every time I try to swaddle him he breaks out in a fit and cries.”

At this point, in the wee hours of the morn, I really cannot function. As much as I would like to force a response to form; I can’t. I, in turn, nod yes with my eyes closed and arms outreached.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Laura says in a loving whisper… and a kiss on my scruffy right cheek.

I start rocking as I take Mauldin, in my arms, and immediately put him over my right shouldler… I know if I do this if he has any burping to do then this is when he may do it. Sure enough, the little booger busts out a tiny, but for him, quite meaningful release. I continue to pound lightly on his lower back and alternate the love pats with an upward rubbing motion. I have no idea if this really does anything, but from all the other mom’s and dad’s I’ve watched in the past this tends to soothe the child in some shape or form. I take that he is slipping off into dreamland as I hear little squeaks emerge from out of nowhere!

“Squeak!”

It sounds sort of like a little puppy… adorable, I know. One day his squeak will disappear and only leave the crying and annoying wimpering… until that day I gladly accept that my son has a squeaker.

I leave him balanced on my shoulder while I take one of his cotton receiving blankets and lay it out on my side of the bed… I have learned from watching Laura, the best swaddler, ever, (sorry Charles) and take a corner and fold it down ever so gently. The amount of receiving blankets we own is staggering and it seems as if I am using a different one every day. Tonight this blanket is white with blue, red, and yellow polka dots… not my favorite one, but it was 3 AM and I was not going to the nursery and risk him waking up so I could have an aesthetically pleasing swaddle blanket that I know he will end up peeing on.

Mauldin, still on my shoulder, begins to snore, lightly, but still snoring, nonetheless. I know this because his face is turned towards my ear… I calmly bounce up and down as to keep him in motion… Mauldin, for some reason, loves to keep moving. “He likes to move it, move it!” LOL! I reach my right hand back and place it below his neck and with my left hand I place it firmly over his hips… I do this because this is where the positioned holds him when we place him in the cradle. The cradle we use is one that was passed down from my wife’s two sister’s… it originally belonged to out nephew, Drew, but he, of course, grew out of it, so next on the list was our niece, Annagrace, and now it’s Mauldin’s turn. I, certainly, do look forward to the day we can return the wooden wonder; however, it will be bitter sweet because it will mean our son is growing up… I am not sure we are ready for him to graduate to his crib just yet… I have become quite accustomed to our son’s late-night shenanigans.

I did finally get Mauldin swaddled good and comfy, and now comes the hard part… the part when I have to move him from my arms to the motionless cradle that sits on the otherside of the room. Our room doesn’t seem that large, but when you have a newborn who has just fallen asleep and not yet in the REM state walking across a room can be quite difficult. I am not sure why, but even a small creak from the wooden floor can cause his little eyes to pop wide open and I am back to square one.

I make it over to the cradle and sure enough the little beast awoke. I was not sure at first because the light in our room is so dimmed at this point and my eyes are so tired I was not sure what I was seeing. I look down at Mauldin, real close up, and notice his eyes are in a dead-lock with mine. It was as if he just wanted to say..

“Hey daddy!”

I kiss him on the forehead and follow up with a light “Shhhhh.”

I rock back and forth, front to back in a rocking horse motion and then switch it up to sway right to left… It is beyond me how he doesn’t get motion sickness from all my movement, but it seems to put him right at ease. The room has a chill in the air, a curious chill as if a ghost was standing next to me while I rocked our babe back to bed. I am curious as to how my body was retaining its heat! The my skin could feel the obvious cold, but why was I not shaking? Why wasn’t I… well, cold? Was I so tired I couldn’t distinguish the difference between hot and cold? Was my body so exhausted it had turned numb? Mauldin certainly wasn't cold... he was so wrapped up there was no way... besides he sweats when he sleeps. I know my feet were hot because my feet would stick to the floor if I was in one place too long while rocking. The sound of me pulling my foot up would make a deafening sound that I was sure would wake Mauldin. I decided to back up and stand on the rug that is placed under out bed…

I look over at the clock and it is now 3:28 AM. In my mind I talk to myself and decide…. “self, you are going to rock him for five more minutes and then put him down.” Then I rethink my stupidity… I look down at my son and his eyes are closed. How long had I been talking to myself in my mind? How long had I been going back and forth on what I would do? While I was striking a compromise with myself Mauldin had, again, fallen into the land of nod. Can I place him in the cradle and not awaken the savage beast? One, two… three… I place him down, tightly swaddled and not a peep… not a squeak… and eyes are still tightly shut. I take this as my confident cue to crawl away, slowly but fervently. I make it to my side of our bed and creep under the covers, which are now frightenly chilly. Now I feel cold? What is up with that?

Laura reaches over and her arm brushes across my chest and she rests her hand on my right shoulder… she says… “why are you so cold?”

“I am not sure…” I whisper “I was hot two seconds ago.”

Laura, pulls herself closer to my side… I can feel her playing footsy and then she runs her hand down my leg and rubs back and forth, on my thigh, trying to cause some skin on skin body heat to emerge.

“Thank you,” I say.

I am taken back to another time in our lives… but while my mind began to wander…

The beast emerged from his sleep… Laura grabs the monitor, from her bedside table, and clicks the top of it to see the real-time screen to check on what he was up to.

“He has busted out of his swaddle.” Laura said.

“Fine.” I reply while throwing back the covers and walk over to our restless babe. I reach over and put his little squirming arms back inside his blanket and rest my hand over his chest. “Shhhhhh….”

He quiets down almost immediately. I look over at the clock and it is almost 5 AM. Where has the time gone? I wondered.

I rush over back to my side of the bed and slide over to Laura hoping to return right back to where we left off…

“I re-swaddled the beast!” I quietly whispered in my wife’s ear.

“Laura…” I say again… she was asleep. I take a deep breath and roll over and reposition the pillow under my head… I look up at the clock… In it’s yellowish green light emanating from our armoire: 5:15 AM. I feel like I can’t win.. the clock just keeps on ticking… So, there I am… lying wide awake while my wife and son are sound asleep. Well, my only consolation was that I got Mauldin to sleep… I did not need help from anyone… I did it myself. I think that is pretty cool – and certainly worth a gold star… or a cookie!

This is How I Roll

2009-04-04T18:08:00.001-04:00

Mauldin at 2 weeks old rolled over on his own!

Let me just say...

2009-04-03T12:11:00.006-04:00

When I first heard of this stuff I was like... "What's Grape water?"

Now that I am educated on the helpfulness of this beautifully made liquid gold... Let me just say...

Thank God for this stuff!

Thank you, God.

Oh, and the makers of Gripe Water...

If you don't know... this stuff stops stomach aches, hiccups, colic, crying... well... crying from the aforementioned baby issues... It's a miracle.. especially at 1AM!

It truly keeps me from griping so much!

My son, the night owl!

2009-04-02T12:56:00.006-04:00

We are never really certain what nights we will be able to catch our ZZZzzzz’s lately. Our newborn son, Mauldin, loves to keep his new mommy and daddy on their toes. Although, only being a week old I am more than sure he doesn’t understand what “sleep” time is; considering he sleeps 90% of the day. How can he actually determine when he should be sleeping and when it is optional? So, I guess I can cut the lil’ guy some slack. Talk to me again about this in six months.

“I think Megan will be voted off tonight,” I said while sitting on the couch next to Laura. “She is really cute, but I just can’t get past the tattoos!”

It is Wednesday night, and nothing we really watch is on TV, so we watch whatever is available. This season we have caught maybe two episodes of the Fox reality talent show, American Idol. I pretty much loathe the show, but we still catch the occasional episode to stay up on the pop culture phenom that has spread across the nation.

Carol, my mother-in-law, is sitting, comfortably, rocking Mauldin, in the wooden rocking chair that was my grandmothers while my wife, Laura, and I sit, side by side, on our laptops, lounging between the pillows, on the couch behind her. We sometimes enjoy our laptop time right before bedtime, in the bed, or just sitting around in the kitchen, but most of the time it is on the couch in front of the television. I had just finished my late-night cup of decaf coffee and bowl of cheeszits. This used to be a normal night for Laura and I, minus the mother-in-law, but we have not had time lately; mainly because Mauldin really likes to monopolize our time! How dare he, I know.

“There,” said Laura. “I just got finished uploading pictures to facebook for the first time since we got home from the hospital.”

Ever since we have gotten home, a week ago, we have taken probably 150 pictures… so if you really think about it is about 21 pictures a day… give or take. I am not counting the ones we’ve deleted! I mean can you blame us? Obviously, we are a little fanatical about our first born.

We usually head up to bed around 10PM. I hop off the couch and make my way over to Laura’s mom to scoop up the little man. This sometimes comes with some form of protest because Mauldin is such an addiction that anyone who holds him becomes entranced in his aura. It is like his baby pheromones, he gives off, trap anyone who has embraced him.

“Alrighty, Mauldin, it’s time to go upstairs,” I say with a fervent voice… I always plan for a whining and “awwwhhh” to follow after I spout the words from my lips. He looks so comfortable and cozy. The little man is in his little onesie that dawns a baby blue elephant, on the front, with the words, “lil’ peanut” embroidered under it. Mauldin squeaks a little as I slide my right hand under his warm head and my left under his itty bitty booty.

“All-right little man, it’s time for your late-night din-din!” I exclaim.

I always try to wake him up before he eats… otherwise he will just lie in Laura’s arms, his face against her bosom, totally zonked out. Now please understand… our child sleeps probably 18-20 hours out of the 24 hour day our Earth is known for! I asked our pediatrician how long this will go on for and she winced at the very utterance of my query.

“Usually babies continue on this type of sleep pattern for about..” she said while pursing her lips and pausing to look through his manila office folder. “About three-four months,” she finished.

“Please wake him up…” says Laura. “It is so hard to feed a sleeping babe.”

“I’ll do my best!” I replied.

One certain way that I know can wake up our child is to take him and place him on the changing table… Our child, for some reason, hates to have his diaper changed. I have a theory, as to why he does not enjoy the changing of the diaper. My hypothesis is that he is brought back to a time when he was strapped down and a cold clamp chopped off a bit of his… well, you know what I mean. That certainly would make me rethink some things! So, lately he has been a little more docile when we have gone to clean up the mess that was left on the underside of his buttocks. Maybe he has placed the memory of the circumcision waaay back in the black hole of his baby psyche.

“Mauldin, comon’ lil man, lets wake up so we catch have some of mommy’s yummy lactation!” I said.

“Eric… that would not make me wanna wake up…” said Laura while positioning herself on the bed with a brown boppy by her side.

“Well, what else should I do?” I reply with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know! Be creative!” replied Laura.

Thankfully, he awoke from his slumber, still a little groggy, but a form of consciousness! This time is the perfect window to introduce the “milk” to him. However, after about 10 minutes of feeding Mauldin tends to start slipping into his milk coma. Although, this night was not one of those nights. The more Mauldin eats, from his “breast” friend, he more he is roused to an awakened state.

“No, this is a little bad…” I said… “Why is he so awake? It is almost 11:30 PM! He needs to start winding down again… for his bed time!”

“I don’t know…” said Laura. “Maybe he slept too much today! Maybe he has to poop, maybe he has gas… maybe he…”

“He what? He wants to stare at the fan more?” I said in a confused and perplexed voice.

That is just what the little guy did… he laid in my arms and kicked and squirmed and would not stay still… then I heard the beautiful sound that I had been waiting for… *burrrp!* He burped! He usually does this about 3-5 times before he winds down for sleepy time and the sandman isn’t far behind. But, this night the sandman must of taken a vacation. Mauldin laid on the bed wide-eyed and awake. It is now 12AM and my wife is lying by my side asleep. I know this little guy is not going to give in anytime soon and I have to get up at 6:30 AM to get ready for work! I did the thing I really didn’t want to do… I gave in… I got up from the warm bed and made my way into the guest room where my mother-in-law was sleeping soundly. Or, for all I know, was lying awake just waiting for a little knock-knock on the door. Mauldin’s crying was so sporadic it was hard to tell if he was upset or just irritated that we were trying to make him go to bed.

Maybe he is just a night owl and wondering when he will be able to stay up and watch that colorful screen that his parents watch on a daily basis. What if he is just testing us to see how much power he has… “Maybe I can change the entire time-clock in this house! Mwhahahahaha!” –thinks Mauldin.

All-in-all I felt really bad giving up my son, to someone else, to Carol, my mother-in-law, to soothe to sleep… I am his father! Why can’t I do it? I am thankful to have had my mother and my mother-in-law the past two weeks, but, I, honestly, almost cried about it because after Friday Laura and I are on our own. What if this happens every night? I was hoping I would be a better father… A father who could soothe the savage beast inside my son. How could it be that our son would be put in the statistics book of the amount of children who grasp hold of their parent’s night and choke them to death until they are reduced to a walking Inferi, a zombie-like corpse that is dead to the world yet still sits behind a desk during the day…

It would be that as soon as I ditched my pride, for my sleep, he quieted down almost immediately. Well, I guess this parenting thing is about compromise and right now my sleep is being highly compromised. Well, let’s hope and pray by… counting in my head the months… June… he will be a little more adapt to our sleep schedule. I anticipate we will successful and can blend our son into the normal society sleep program. If not… I may need therapy, or a long nap!

Emotionally ADD

2009-03-30T13:45:00.006-04:00

Okay, sorry it has taken me so long to get a blog in, but I have been a little pre-occupodo!

My son, Mauldin, finally decided to arrive on Saturday, March 21^st at 10:13 AM. He came out weighing 5lbs, 6 ounces and 18 ¼ inches long. My wife, Laura, started having major labor contractions on Friday, March 20^th around 9:30 PM. We had eaten grilled chicken.. the weather was so nice so we decided to use our new grill my parents had bought us this past Christmas. After dinner, all was well… we had been to the OB earlier that day, around 4PM, for our weekly check-up.

Laura’s doctor came in all smiles and asked us if we were ready to have this baby… “I certainly can try to speed things along,” he said with his back to us and popping his fingers inside a latex rubber glove. “That is, if you want me to!”

Laura’s eyes were huge and I could basically read her mind…

“What exactly do you mean?” said Laura. “We are ready, but what is speed things along entail?”

“I can strip your membranes!” said the Doctor.

At the sound of this I was totally confused and sure I was not destined to be a doctor… I mean having this baby tonight sounded great, but were we ready?

Bottom line, our Doctor, “stripped” Laura’s membranes and let us know… well more like cautioned us, that doing this “may cause labor within the next 24-48 hours.” We, of course, held strong that Mauldin was still not going to come. We had our hopes up so many times that doing this surely wouldn’t cause “true” labor.

10:00 PM – We are in bed, I thought it would be nice to watch a movie in bed on this Friday night, so I picked “Spaceballs!” We hardly got into where Princess Vespa runs from the alter when Laura insists we may need to head on to the hospital. We decide together not to inform anyone about this, as to not insue or cause anyone to panic and show up at the hospital only for it to be, yet another, false alarm.

At about 12:30AM on Saturday, March 21, the nurse comes into our triage room to ask if she was comfortable.

“You’re contractions seem to be pretty strong and really close together.” Said the Nurse. “Would you like to have your epidural?”

“Epidural?” I yelped with a surprised reaction. “But, I don’t want to pay for an epidural and then be sent home!”

“No, no Sir.” Said the nurse. “If your wife is given an epidural… she will be admitted to a room today… to have the baby.”

“Are you kiddin’?” I said in shocked amazement! “But… we… uhhhh…”

“So, this is, like, it?” said Laura

“Pretty much, yah!” replied the nurse while she was inputting information into the computer next to Laura.

Right then, I whipped out my cell phone to call our family and friends to tell them the exciting news… in between each contraction that is… Laura needed me to count her through her contractions that were now 2-3 minutes apart and all seemed to inflict equal amounts of pain.. So, that meant I had to talk quick… if the person I was calling did not answer on the second dial, at 12:45 AM, then I had to go on to the next person. Thankfully, my mom, sister, dad, mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-laws were all readily available. I called my boss as well to inform her so that she knew that I would not be in on Monday. I had decided early on that I would be taking a week off of work to be with Laura and the little man, so it was very important she was aware of the current events.

Fast forward… 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 21, 2009 and we are in full-blown labor… who knew that in 13 minutes our son would literally pop-out into the world!

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 PUSH…

I have never counted to ten so many times in my life… but it was totally worth it and I have a whole new respect for my wife. Laura is one of the strongest and most determined women I know… I never left her side… I wanted to make sure I was there to experience every moment, every precious moment that I could never get back… each and every second that went by was something I could file as one of the most amazing life experiences I could ever witness.

And, at 10:13AM he was here… after all this time… after all the singing to a belly and reading to a bump… I get to see what my wife and I made all those nine months ago. The nine months that seem like a lifetime.

Fast forward to today… I am back at work, after my one week off with my new family… and I know it wasn’t enough time. I woke up and knew I would have to leave them. But, would he remember me when I got back? What if our baby’s short term memory doesn’t work yet and he totally forgets who I am.. what I smell and sound like? Will I just be another stranger who wants to hold him for a bit and then gives him back up to his mom? All during the time I was home I wanted to hold him 24/7… but I knew that was a bad idea because if we did that he would never learn to be alone and sleep alone. We have a baby now… it is just unreal to me. Honestly, during the entire stint in the hospital Friday – Sunday… I thought they were testing us.

“Oh, you didn’t hold him right today, Sir… we are going to have to take him, sorry.”

We are taking things one day at a time. One night he sleeps soundly the other he is up at all hours… the sleep deprivation set in on day two… There is also one tiny... hiccup... he is 5lbs so that means none of the newborn diapers fit him... nor will any of the newborn clothes... so we have had to stock up on packs of premie diapers. Please, I wanna take this moment to thank all of you who have bought Mauldin some new clothes... otherwise he would be hanging out in his diaper and a blanket only!

After Mauldin's debut... I cried for about 30 seconds and then the tears disappeared and never returned. What was wrong with me? Why was I being such a unfeeling, unemotional bastard? My son was just born and my emotions were on hiatus! Well, so I thought… until… he peed on me. I remember it clearly… I was sitting next to Laura, on the squeaky, hospital bed trying to burp him from his afternoon snack and I felt a warm, wet sensation in my lap. Right then, on the bed, the tears began to flow… I lowered my face so no one would see…

“How embarrassing!” I said “Here comes the ugly.”

I tend to make really ugly faces when I get emotional and cry. One thing I certainly have noticed, in my son, in the one week I was with him… he gets upset when you change his diaper and makes the ugly cry. But, will this be the only time he looks like me? During the ugly cry? Well, that is just depressing.

It all came out… it was like I had an IV of estrogen attached to me. I couldn’t stop it. Everything I had been feeling… all the happy’s, all the sad’s, all the mad’s, all the good and the bad came out. I didn’t want to be rude or mean to nurses, family or friends… I was having a emotional outbreak with ADD! What was wrong with me? I unintentinally insulted probably everyone... My thoughts were running... they wouldn't stop!

Will I be a good dad to his little guy? Why doesn’t he look more like me? Why??? All his clothes are too small! He sure does sleep a lot! Will he like me? What if I don’t make a good impression on him and he always wants mommy? I would like to learn some stuff on my own… I need help… I can do it by myself… we need help! Why is he still crying? Why doesn’t he look like me? Why are his legs so long? Will he ever fit in his high chair? Why doesn't he look more like me?

Please understand… my mind is a complex thing and it fluxuates in five million different directions. However, I am incredibly stable! One thing is for certain… We are overjoyed, thrilled and ecstatic to have this little guy in our lives now! He is the perfect addition our family. I love you Laura and Mauldin...

Mauldin, Daddy will be home soon.

My Life Would Suck Without You...

2009-03-20T13:33:00.010-04:00

Today, after I picked up my six inch. turkey sub, on wheat bread, complete with Swiss cheese, mayo and just a squirt of spicy mustard, from Publix, I turned on the radio; to Sirius/XM 20 on 20. I was on my ride back into the office, in my car, when I heard Kelly Clarkson’s new song, “My Life Would Suck Without You!”

Now this isn’t the first time I have heard this catchy tune…you would have to be living under a rock not to have heard it! My apologies to my blog-fans who reside under rocks. But, I mean if you get internet access you could atleast turn it to xmradio.com, right? Okay, I digress…

I immediately thought, “My life will suck without my 20 on 20 playlist from Sirius Radio!”

I understand my days are limited where I can enjoy the “un-cut” versions of songs. I don’t even actually enjoy some of the stuff that is on the airwaves these days… Just the other day, to skew from the subject, just for a moment, Laura and I were skimming the channels and ran across the new season of MTV’s“The Real World” and apparently it is set in Brooklyn… I just felt so detached from that show now… I feel I cannot relate to it anymore… I felt, so, so… so, I’m going there, old. I felt old.

It is inevitable, upon the arrival of our bundle of joy, our song choices, for the car and at home, will be altered to child-friendly melodies. Sweetly sung diddlies that will enhance and put a signature smile of his gleaming face. But, then I thought, while looking in my rearview mirror and gazing upon the Graco snug-ride base, in the backseat, sans baby carrier and baby, that will today’s music really effect him that much? Will I be restricted to “safe” tunes? I know my wife is on my side with this. Can I stomach only the “safe” stuff? Also, another tangent, we were in a children’s store and they music they were playing were popular songs, but sung by a gaggle of children! It was basically making me ill to listen to it. Poor Ryan Cabrera, Tonic and John Mayer have had some of their songs converted into a tune where a chorus of children belt it out as if it is a song they would sing while in music class! I was appauled and threw up in my mouth a little…

I thought, what do I listen to on a day-to-day basis right now? What is frequently played on the airwaves? Lady Gaga, Rhianna, Britney Spears and T-pain… truly… will this genre of music poison my son’s brain and cause him to act differently? Will he be swayed to wear his little diaper down to his knees because that’s how his “homies kick it?” Has there been a study done on the effects that pop and ghetto music have on infants? Surly not! Do I want to be a case-study? No. So, what are our choices…lets see… well, the regular music we listen to now while mixing in the soothing lullabies, a little Radio Disney, here and there, the occasional, various children’s CD (Old McDonald, etc…) and classical music; as to stimulate our son, so he can be the next Wolfgang Amadeus. I know some people who swear by Christian CD’s and the like, but honestly, and let me preface I am not against the Christian music, however, it’s kinda lame. But, that’s just my humble opinion… comment how you will…

I sometimes see my nephews, niece or even children of my friends and the little one's try to dance... they shake their heads and basically get giggy with themselves! It's classic! Will Mauldin have rhythm? Will he bust a move? Only time will tell...

I would certainly like to have a well-rounded child, but I guess I will play whatever, in the car, and he will latch on to something he enjoys, right? So, either he will be wanting to sing-a-long to “How much is that doggy in the window..” or he could hum along to JT’s Summer Love. Whatever the case may be… the music I listen to will be limited… but honestly, without some mainstream music in my car… I may lose my mind!

A New Normal...

2009-03-19T14:49:00.004-04:00

Today, it was certainly evident, to me, that my wife is getting frustrated…

Laura is ready, ready to… well, NOT be pregnant anymore. Now, don't get me wrong… this pregnancy has actually been a fairly easy one, from my point-of-view, and not too many complications; aside from the occasional pre-term labor scares and the couple of weeks on bed rest. But, she sent me a text message today that said…

"I can't wait for our baby to be here so we can just get back to a normal pace."

I guess after almost 39 weeks of sharing my body with something I would be ready to have it back too!

It struck me… Normal pace? We will never be living at a normal pace again. No matter if our son comes today or two weeks from now… we can never go back… we will have a "new" (slightly sleep deprived, yet improved) normal from the moment he is born! Please, understand, I am excited about our "new" normal, but I know we both do not take a quick change as easy as people may assume.

One thing I am confident of is… Laura is keen on getting back into shape and back into her old clothes… She complains about how nothing fits anymore… how her "cankles" ache. (Please NOTE: her idea of cankles are hardly cankles!) As we walk by the bikinis at Target or she flips through the Victoria Secret catalog… she automatically says,

"oh, one day soon my friends… just you wait! I will be with you soon!"

I know that she is raring to go and have this labor begin. Although, when it starts she may change her tune; we will just have to wait and see.

I know that my wife is one of the strongest and most positive people I know… so labor, complete with epidural, should be a walk in the park. (Notice how I can say this because I am a man and have no idea what it would feel like to have something the size of a watermelon come out of my… well okay.) I, of course, will be there supporting her the entire time… One thing I will not be doing is making sure I institute the teachings of the church of Scientology. If my woman wants to scream… let it be known… she can yell, scream and shout out anything she wants!

We are truly ready for our lives to never be the same. One day maybe Kelly Clarkson will change her mind... this is such an exciting time for us... I couldn't imagine not wanting to experience being a parent.

Not to get too psychological, but after the labor, our "new" normal will begin to unfold… the new tapestry that is weaved into our lives will be set forth into motion. The old becomes new, different… and our future will have arrived!

Mauldin will be our "new" normal…

A Couple of Mopes

2009-03-18T12:16:00.007-04:00

Our dogs are Grumpy…

Sad or grumpy would actually be understatements. They are gloomy, cheerless, poignant, distressed, if you will…

Pick one of the aforementioned adjectives and they could both take the place of “Grumpy” from Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs!

Logan, our hyper and always energetic Beagle, seems so melancholy… and Andy, our hyper-sensitive West Highland Terrier doesn’t know what to think. Andy just follows suit with whatever Logan, the Matriarch, does. They are a couple of mopes these days. We are not exactly sure, but we think they aren’t receptive to change. Logan basically shunned us for two days when we brought Andy home for the first time. Finally, she warmed up to him and now they are inseparable!

The other day, as Laura was casually lounging on the couch; Logan woefully hopped up onto Laura’s lap and just sat there like she was a breed that is about 20lbs less than she actually is!

Her expression was that of, “can’t you see how sad I am? Haven’t you noticed? What do I have to do to show you? I mean I can’t talk, so here… this is my SOS to you… Heed my notice master. I am sad.”

She stayed perched upon Laura’s lap even while we roared with laughter. It is on a very rare occasion that we allow our pups on the furniture and this was not one of those instances.

It was so out-of-the blue that we did not know how to react! It is absolutely shocking how protective and concerned our dogs have become in the past few months. They both follow Laura around as if they are waiting for her to collapse, or even, gasp, for her water to break! I certainly would not know what they would do, besides try and lick it up, if that were to happen!

How is it dogs are so aware of what is going on during pregnancy? I mean I know we have some super-intelligent K-9’s, but seriously? Do they know what is about to happen? Do they understand what we talk about when we discuss bringin Mauldin home? What if they think Mauldin is another dog? LOL!

Well, it will certainly be interesting to observe how they react when we finally bring Mauldin home… (that is, if he ever is BORN!)

Baby Gap

2009-03-16T16:05:00.005-04:00

It is one thing to be prepared, but a totally different thing to be Eric & Laura Skates. We are known to over-plan, over-worry, over-spend & above all, over-pack!

“As soon as you guys relax” says Janice, my mother, in a tone that echoes years of experience of a woman way beyond her years… “and are unprepared, it will happen... He wants to surprise you!”

Laura and I have been so surprised at how slow this process of, the end, seems to be! Why won’t he come? Why? We have heard it all… patience.. he will come when he comes.. blah, blah, blah…

Okay that is good and all, but hurry it up, lil’ man! We are ready to see you…

“Thanks mom,” I reply with a hint of annoyance. “But, it… I.. okay, fine...”

For some reason parents tend to be correct, no matter how much you don’t want them to be, but soon I will be one of “those” parents, so I guess I can cut my parents, and in-laws, some slack, huh?

This past weekend, my wife Laura and I went out to do some last minute shopping… you know to better prepare Mauldin for his arrival into this world. We figured one more pair of socks would do the trick.

“You know,” said Laura, “if he waits just a few more days he can be an Aries, like his daddy!” She says this with a bright-eyed smile across her face all the while sliding hangers around a for sale rack in Baby Gap.

“Can you handle that?” I replied.

“Ohh… well, I guess we’ll see!” she quickly replied.

“Well, if he comes this week, on the 17^th, he will be a lucky baby!” I interjected. Tuesday, March 17^th is St. Patrick’s Day… the day Laura picked in the Mauldin Baby Pool!

“Yah, and I would be right again.” Said Laura, turning around and pointing at herself with a resolute finger. “That means I would be right! Again!”

“Yes dear.” I said in a hesitant agreement. Laura and I are both competitive individuals and so one of us always is right… guess which one that is…

“He just has a few more days,” I said while holding up my hand counting on my fingers. “A few more days and he will be a Pisces!” Baby Gap has astrology onesies and it would be just our luck we buy the one we think he will be and will end up having to return it for the other…

Soon, lil’ man, soon… we keep sayin’… he has heard about how bad the economy is and doesn’t wanna come out! We got your stimulus package!!!!!!! LOL!

Baby Talk

2009-03-12T11:31:00.006-04:00

The other day my wife, Laura, and I were sitting around in my son’s, currently vacant, nursery and were in complete awh of how it is almost finished… almost because it is missing one significant, little tiny, but most important detail! Mauldin!

“Can you believe it?” said Laura while rocking in our big, brown comfy chair. “It seems like just yesterday we were moving the twin bed out of here to make room for all of Mauldin’s things.”

“Yah,” I said while sitting in the floor Indian style, like a small child waiting for a present. “I didn’t think this nursery would ever be complete.”

“Well, it isn’t yet… yah know?” said Laura.

“I know,” I said. “but as soon as he gets here…”

“It will be totally complete.” Said Laura as she scanned the room; from the cherry finished crib to her left to the open closest, that stood open, in front of her. The closet is so full now. It has a wide range of baby clothes from 0-3 to 6-12 months. Little osh-kosh overalls, cute little polo rompers and of course the little new balance shoes that hang so innocently in the shoe hanger on the door.

“Do you think we will remember what clothes he has?” I said wide-eyed and starting to get a slight head-ache. “I mean, we have so many clothes… how can we possibly get him in all those clothes by the time he grows out of them! I seriously think we have over 200 onesies!”

I reached over to my left and pulled open the top drawer to his changing table. The drawer was a little cumbersome to open without some of the clothes spilling out.

“No, I don’t think we will.” Said Laura with a sweet coy smile. She was holding up one of the little, blue newborn shirts with a pink pig on it. The shirt read Our lil’ Ham!

“But, we certainly will try… how cute is this?” she continued with a voice that is a little more high pitched than normal and a hint of baby talk. “He is gonna be so adorable!”

“Yes,” I started. “But, lets just hope we don’t hear the… awh what a cute outfit, instead of, awh what a cute baby! That’s when you know your baby isn’t that cute.”

Laura didn’t even reply to my comment; she continued with her nesting, all the while she was still sitting in the big, brown chair. Laura was focused on folding some of the receiving blankets. She was using her pregnant belly as a way to assist her in the folding.

I sat on the floor and my mind began to wonder off into what it was going to be like, in a few weeks, after my son had arrived. Would his poop make me wanna puke? What if I give him the wrong kind of advice, as a father? More importantly, will he like Star Wars? All of a sudden, I am brought back to the present… as I hear…“would you like that?” Was my wife talking and I was not paying attention? How long had I been gone? Can I play this off without her knowing? I think of that Ellen skit where she shows you how to play off that you weren’t paying attention. I figure, oh why not try it!

I look at her, smile and shake my head as I am nodding yes… Yes! I passed it off… she had no idea! Then I thought.. holy crap Batman – I have no idea, at ALL, to what I was agreeing to. I was hoping it was just about what we would maybe be having for dinner…

I immediately follow and say “hey, you wanna go watch Smallville?” We are big Smallville fans... we have every season except for the current one, of course.

Laura is usually always up for that and this time was no different… my wife is used to my ADD tendancies, so this did not phase her at all.

So, where was I? Ooooh Shiney!