Tag: The Dad Speaks

It feels like every year since Nina and I have been together, I always take her birthday (last Thursday) off which is also right around Labor Day (tomorrow). I enjoy my time off, but I don’t have the luxury to be able to do nothing and sleep all day; which would be great for me!…

If I was put on a quiz show to answer who won the NBA Championship, the Super Bowl, and the World Series since 2016, I would fail! I have a perfect reason and that is Niko as he was born in 2016. I have more important things in life than doing things that I used…

Seeing Niko happy makes me happy. A few days ago, I used our old baby gate to make a fort for Niko. I forgot, though, that as part of the gate was also the gate (duh) that opens and closes. I showed Niko how it works and he was blown away and super excited to…

Had I known that rolling, throwing, kicking, and bouncing a ball from the Little Tikes basketball hoop indoors would be so much fun for Niko, I would’ve done it more often. Yesterday, we did it three times. We do have to take drinking and cooling off breaks for both of us. It’s good physical activity…

This isn’t about the 1991 Julia Roberts movie. No, this is actually much better. For the past two Thursday’s, I have slept with Niko. I can only do it when I don’t have to work the following day. I also can’t do it more regularly like every Friday and Saturday, because we always seem to…

Nina had minor surgery on July 23rd and is doing great in her recovery. I had July 23rd, July 26th, July 30th, and August 6th off from work and it was nice not to have to work and take care of Niko at the same time. Because, when I did have to work, it was…

Man, I have worn out those three words with Niko and I know he dislikes it when they come out of my mouth. One of my primary jobs as a dad is to make sure he is careful and doesn’t get hurt. He is just so playful and full of energy and sometimes can be…

On July 23rd, Nina had minor surgery on her back; don’t worry, she is doing good and each day is better than the previous. Dr. Dad and Nurse Niko are taking good care of her. We make sure she has drinks in the mini fridge upstairs and I have been providing lots of hot meals…

Niko stopped taking naps in November of 2019, right when I started my MBA at Western Governors University. Yeah great timing. Well, a few days ago, he woke up super early. It was so early that my work alarm for 7 am hadn’t even gone off yet. I was able to make his breakfast and…

When Niko wakes up in the middle of the night before we are scheduled to get him for a quick pee or in the morning, he instinctively yells DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD. He even did it a few weeks ago when I was not even home in the morning as I was physically at work. I can hear…

Man, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I started writing on www.thestatmanspeaks.com. My first article on July 17, 2011, was about high school football. See, I was a high school football statistician for games on the radio (1997 to 2015) and for games on the television (2009 to 2015). I really fell in…

Since June 14th, I have been walking in the evenings after Niko is sleeping. It’s a very short walk around the block, because it’s so hot. Before I do my walks, I have to make sure I have clothes to change into. Because, even though they are short walks, I do sweat. As far as…

I have been working from home since last April and have had to be in the office a few times since then, but only for a couple of hours in the morning. Then, I was able to finish my shift at home. Last week, that changed, as I was in the office Tuesday through Friday…

I guess being five years old, means some things must be perfect! If not, he gets frustrated and has recently started imitating our body and facial expressions from when we get frustrated. It’s actually really funny how accurate he is, especially when he uses them. Let me quickly explain… For breakfast, Niko wants ham and…

I am not going to blab on and on and on and on about today, because everyday is both Mothers and Fathers Day and children’s day! But, I am looking forward to later in the day having some Chinese food that Nina and Niko will pickup. Noodles, rice, and dumplings for me! Yummy for my…

Hi, my name is Mark and I have been eating pasta, rice and a little bit of dairy for the past few weeks and I really need to put a stop to it now. I was doing so well before that (my stomach wasn’t hurting either during that time) and then, it all went down…

It feels really good that today I didn’t have to mow the backyard this morning like I did last Sunday and the Sunday before that. We had a lot of rain and the back yard grew quickly in the two prior weeks; this week, it’s just HOT. Our little battery powered lawnmower did a good…

We purchased this game several weeks ago, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that we eventually figured out how to play it. I enjoy it much better than all the Mario video games we have; mainly, because I get to smash things into lego pieces and it’s also a really great stress reliever….

Obviously, I love to write as I have been doing it publicly since 2011. It just comes so easy for me and once I get going, I am hard to stop. But, when I am not writing about writing, I love to read books. The books I choose are mainly autobiographies or biographies of people….

Last Wednesday and Thursday, I had to actually go to my work for a few hours in the morning. The good thing though, is that once I finished, I was able to come home and continue to work from home for the rest of my shift. It was nice to have some alone and quiet…