Is it possible to bribe an almost 4 year old; Niko will be 4 in May? The bribe begins with something I want, something I need, or something that must be done…for Niko. The bribe ends with food; usually it will be chocolate. But to be honest, it doesn’t work because he is already smarter…
The House Didn’t Fall Apart
After being off work since January 29th, I go back this Wednesday. On that day, my team is having a birthday potluck; so I have to bring donuts and candy. It’s good that I won’t have to think on Tuesday night about what I need to bring to eat for Wednesday. I just need to…
The Cooking Dad
I may not know how to cook a lot of things, but I am really good at boiling water for pasta and making omelette’s! I also can cook a frozen chicken thigh or breast in a frying pan and make it really flavorful. Oh, I enjoy cooking frozen dumplings. This morning, I made myself fried…
Time Alone With Niko
On Wednesday, Nina has surgery scheduled and I will be off for two weeks to take care of her and Niko. Nina keeps telling me she really wants to be self sufficient and I think it will happen. She has a stash of things she needs and our job (Niko and I) is to make…
The Kitchen Helper
Under all circumstances, it is my job to clean the kitchen; mainly that includes putting all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, running it before I got to sleep, and emptying it the following morning. I do this so Nina doesn’t have to worry about it and can focus on other things like Niko. I…
It’s A Really Good Feeling…
When you plan something a month in advance and you finish it on time. That was the case for my 2nd class in my MBA. I am proud of myself because I am motivated to be successful in my studies and have enjoyed learning new things that will help me down the road. Yes, it’s…
Social Media Deletion?
I enjoy writing and am going to keep on doing it. But, sharing photos and my writings on Facebook and Twitter isn’t doing anything for me. So, with that being said, I have stopped posting and sharing things on Facebook and Twitter. I haven’t yet gotten to the point of deletion, but I can easily…
Goodbye 2019 and Hello 2020
It was a really good year for me… I got a new job at the bank, we sold our house, we purchased a new one, I started my MBA at WGU, and we booked a real vacation for next year to celebrate a birthday and anniversary milestone. As far as my dad body image, I…
Facetime
So, whomever at Apple came up with the idea of Facetime, I say thanks for this awesome technology. I have no clue why Nina and I didn’t think of using it while I am on my breaks at work, but just within the past few weeks, we have used Facetime. It’s really nice to be…
Weekends Are Hard
Weekends are hard for me because I take care of Niko all day on Saturday and Sunday; Nina works on Saturday, does grocery shopping on Saturday, and cooks on Sunday. Yeah, we do have Nina at our disposal, but I try to give her a break because she takes care of him during the week….
First Class In My MBA Is DONE
I started my MBA at WGU on 11/1 and I am proud to say, my first class is done! It was a lot of work and during the 2nd week when Nina had surgery and Niko got sick, I was a bit overwhelmed and really wanted to quit, but I stuck with it; with the…
The Statman Returns
Last Tuesday as Niko, my 3 and a half year old son, was vomiting for the 2nd and 3rd time that day; this was also his 1st real vomit experience, I got a text message from Mark Thomas asking if I would come out of statistician retirement for one game. That game being a Class…
Sea World
Yesterday, we took Niko to Sea World in the later afternoon, mainly because we wanted him to see the 9 million Christmas lights at the park! And, let me say, it didn’t disappoint any of us. It was much better than last weekend when we all went to La Cantera. We even tried to see…
Short Attention Span and Not Enough Time
After Nina had her surgery on November 9th, I took the following week off to help her and take care of Niko. It was a lot of work; mainly because Niko got sick later on that week and two days that week, he woke up at 4:30 am. Yes, I was overwhelmed with everything and…
Date Night With Niko
On Friday, November 1st, as I was preparing Niko for bed, he looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes and opened his small baby mouth. The words that came out were, DAD, I WANT TO GO OUT SOMEWHERE TONIGHT. It was 6:15 in the evening and too late to go anywhere, I answered him….
Overwhelmed, Stressed, and Eating Bad
Overwhelmed because all of this past week, I have been taking care of Niko. I took the week off since Nina had surgery on the 9th; she is doing really good in her recovery. Throw in a sick child since Wednesday; it’s probably just a cold…coughing, runny nose, and sneezing. On Wednesday and Saturday, Niko…
Post Halloween Snacks
I am trying not to eat Niko’s Halloween snacks in his Magical Mystery Tour ceramic cookie jar and the Halloween snacks at work, but they look so lonely and would be much better in my stomach! So, yes, I have eaten a lot of bad stuff; anything chocolate at home and skittles and starburst at…
Firsts
It was a weekend of firsts. On Thursday, it was Halloween and it was also Niko’s first time trick-or-treating. It was our first time living in a real neighborhood with other people around us who also have children. Niko really enjoyed walking around, seeing other kids getting candy, knocking on doors, and looking in garages as…
The Toy Purge
Yesterday, Niko and I sorted thru the majority of his toys; some of them ended up in a huge donate box, some of them we threw away, and the rest we kept. For the ones we kept, I organized similar toys into bins. Our play areas looks a lot better now that everything has been…
Orientation and No Nap Niko
Last Tuesday, I was finally able to start my orientation at WGU and I was excited. I made myself a really comfortable spot on the sofa, had food, had water, my Acer Chromebook, and a plush laptop pillow. From where I was perched, I had a great view of lightening from a thunderstorm that eventually…