That's A Cool Feeling Parent Edition: Episode 1

Growing up in Houston, TX I remember there was a radio station (104.1 KRBE??) that had a segment where people would call in and talk about embarrassing things that happened then they ended the call with,"...that's a cool feeling".

Well I am going to attempt to do the same but with real-life things that have happened to me or my wife in our short time of being parents. Enjoy!

THAT'S A COOL FEELING

• When you are in the middle of Mass at a nice cathedral and you feel the warmth of your six month old baby's pee running down the side of your pants and all over the floor.....that's a cool feeling.
• When you are at an event and you take your potty training toddlers to the restroom and minutes later they ask to go again but you believe they are bluffing so they just do their business all over the place in-front of an audience.....that's a cool feeling.
• When you go to Mass and suddenly smell the stench of a very full diaper, you look for the diaper bag then panic at the horror of not having it, leave the service, drive home, realize you somehow don't have a house key on your car keys, drive to the local Target, buy a box of diapers, wipes and new outfit, pay, go to the change the baby and realize there is poop all over her back and car seat...yeah....that's a cool feeling!
• When you leave your twin children for literally five minutes to then return and find butt paste all over the walls and their bodies...that's a cool feeling.
• When you have a 'loose' sliding door lock and your young child decides to lock you out when you stepped out for a few minutes to your back yard in the middle of a hot summer day....that's a cool feeling.
• When your eldest twin decides to sprinkle water on your six-month old baby's head because ,"she likes it daddy..." .... that's a cool feeling.
• When your young child knocks on your bedroom door while you are 'sleeping'...that's a cool feeling.

What are some of your 'cool feeling' moments?

- The Babies' Dad

The World is Watching

Flickr photo by. craig

I wake up every morning and the very first thing when I open my eyes is do the sign of the cross. I remember dad doing that when he got out of bed and I picked-up this "habit" from him. I doubt he knows that I do this every morning because I remember seeing him do it every morning growing up. It is interesting the things that as a kid you pick-up on that your parents don't have a clue you know they do or still do. As you grow older you realize you become a version of them in all things; good, bad and ugly.

As a dad this is a scary thought because there are habits that I don't want my children to learn from me. If we as parents sit back to think about the obligation and responsibility we have being role models for our children it sometimes feels like the weight of the universe on our shoulders. I want to be the best daddy for my children and sometimes the pressure gets to me because I feel that the whole world is watching.

I hear it often,"Oh you are such a good daddy!" but inside I want to tell them,"Sometimes. You haven't seen me tired or when the kiddos are acting out." I am not very pleasant but it is getting better (I hope).  I fall to the "template" I grew up with which is my dad. I am a light version of him and even though I love my dad, I want to be better than him. I want my children to know that I am not perfect but I am going to be the best daddy I can be.

The funny thing about kids is that they think you are the coolest cat around. For example, I am NOT a handy man (ask my wife about that) but my girls think I can fix anything. I often hear them pretending to "fix" things and one will always say,"I can't fix this!!" and the other always replies," It's ootay sweetie, daddy can fix it." That makes me feel pretty awesome, even though I really can't fix a lot of things but I can "fix" their invisible toys. I like to yell,"Can we fix it!?", and in twin-sync they yell back,"YES WE CAN!"

So girls Daddy is going to keep being there for you, hold you, carry you, laugh with you, cry with you, hug you, teach you, hold you accountable, feed you, clothe you and love you....especially when the world is watching.

- the babies dad

It taste like chicken! And other random thoughts

Photo is from zazzle.com.

I am going to try something new and just post whatever comes to my mind in the next 10 minutes about being a dad, life and random stuff. Ready, set, go!

• Katherine had tear duct surgery and it traumatized my wife and I. She on the other hand did really well and didn't cry at all. She did throw a fit about the scrubs that they put on her after she woke up from the anesthesia but that is my girl.
• Josephine (our non-twin kid) is a very easy baby (maybe after you have twins the first time it just seems easier) she eats, sleeps (a lot, thank you God!) and poops a lot. However, she likes to smile, coo and overall is a happy baby. Her older sisters love her each in their own way. Katherine is very touchy feel-y with her to the point we have to tell her to back-off a bit. Layla is more like this, "Okay, cool you are here and I love you but you just stay away from my stuff and we are cool. I will come and bring you toys and stuff but just stay in your lane."
• I have to brag about our older girls because they make me feel very dumb at times. There are things that they do like puzzles, count one through ten in Spanish and English, know their primary colors and call us out when they know we are skewing the truth a bit that I don't recall being able to do at their age. My wife on the other hand probably was reading Tolstoy at their age, maybe that is where they get that from. Side note: "My wife things Tolstoy is an evil man because of the way he wrote."
• The parental unit (my wife and I) have made the decision to start potty training this weekend, please Pray for us, may the pee and poo be toilet bound and not...other bound.
• I started trying something new that has benefited our little family, I wake up an hour earlier than I usually do and work on side projects (freelance, some life dream stuff) and when I get home from normal work I don't think of work or side work. Instead I become a fictional lion and ROAR!!!! In the jungle called "Casa de Eloy" I hunt for little monkeys, frogs, rabbits and whatever other animals the girls decided to be that day.
• We introduced the girls to señor "Bob the Builder" needless to say they are always trying to "fix" things. I believe their grandpa would be proud as they use baby bottles and pretend they are hammers, flip their play stools and use "glue" to put them together, finally my favorite they work together and ask one-another to pass the "hammer, screwdriver etc." to get the job done.
• It is lent and my wife and I decided to "give up" Facebook and I must say....it is nice, we read more and seems like we are engaged with our little family more. It might become permanent but then again like any "addiction" it comes and drags you back.
• Saturdays are daddy-daughter mornings. Momma and little baby stay home and sleep (well if little baby decides to be nice to momma) and Daddy and twins go for Saturday morning donuts with their favorite, SPRINKLES! (note: they just eat the sprinkles not the Donut.) Then we go to the library and get books and usually a couple of movies. 
• Hakuna Matata is our a song I started singing one night at bed time then played it on the iPhone and now it is a favorite. The best part is seeing Katherine get out of her bed and dance. Layla just sits there and looks at me confused because she is expecting the iPhone to show the cartoon. However, she makes comments about what should be happening at certain parts of the song. Their favorite line is one from the actual video,"It tastes like chicken!" the reason being I kiss them and act like I am eating them and always say,"Hmmmm yummy you taste like chicken!" Makes me smile every time.

Okay I went over ten minutes...it was more like 15 minutes. Please comment so I know people are reading since I can't post a link of the new post on facebook.