Kid with a Camera!

 These pictures gave me an idea. I give my daughter my phone and let her play with it and I always end up with about 30 or 40 extra photos in my gallery. I got the idea for this project from looking through these photos and noticing some of these pictures are good and not all of them are selfies. There are some landscapes and other pictures of dogs and flowers and just random people. So I am going to buy a camera and get a cheap go pro camera and hook my little girl up with some tech gear and then after a month I am going to put together a site of photos that my 1and half year old took.

 In the process I would like to invite all of my readers and fellow bloggers mommy and daddy alike to contribute their own photos one of yourself and your son or daughter and then the random photos they take throughout the day. Send them to me in an email and I will be gathering them through the coming month and at the end of June I am going to put out a special page of Kid with a Camera photos and everyone who contributes to the project can pick a special cover picture to showcase their child and his or her photos. I think our children have a keen eye and that will shine through in this project. Also any contributers will get a big YouTube thank you from my daughter and myself. Thanks for reading and start sending in those awesomely random kid taken photos. My personal email is mli.13.ia@Gmail.com.

OMG So Much Puke

So I have been riding all day doing errands in the car with me daughter and forgot to take her tv out because she gets car sick from looking at books and watching tv in the car. I guess it's the focusing on the book or tv while things in the window beside her are flying by and the car is swaying from side to side. Either way she got sick bad and then she was fine but OMG I had forgotten how much she could puke. I had been giving her car sick tablets and taking out the tv from the car. I looked at her today after about an hour and a half or so and she looked a little uncomfortable but still ok. Then around a minute later she was whining and then a projectile vomit that rivaled the exorcism came out of her and it lasted what seemed like forever. After that she was fine. But it had been so long since she had gotten sick like that and I freaked out whipped into a parking lot and jumped out and ran to her aid. She didn't need it though, she puked and she was fine.
    Back to the reason I posted this, what helped my daughter is to take the children's motion sickness meds before long trips so she can watch the tv and be entertained, but for short trips we take the tv out so she can look out the window and that seems to help her a lot. If the has the tv she vomits every time. If you do something different then that let me know. Hopefully this helps you if your child gets car sick. Sorry it's not that many tips but she got over it pretty easily.

•   I can give you tips however on getting the vomit out of the car and car seat. I like the Tide brand laundry detergent just because it gets the seata cover and clothes clean and good smelling. To get my car seat and floor board clean I take a towl with a little Shout and water for the floor boards and mats. Then I use Dawn dish soap to clean the seat fabric. Then I leave the Windows open for a few hours to vent the vomit smell and should be good to go.

That Dad Face

I wanted to post these up because both are faces dads make when they hold their baby for the first time. It's a face of love but at the same time terror. It's like someone handing you a fragile porcelain doll that pees and poos. I was so worried that I would break her because I am a big guy and she was so small . I automatically loved her and couldn't believe she is so beautiful. I still at that moment had a flurry of fear and excitement but most of all I know as parents we all felt it OMG it's real now. We all read the books and watch the YouTube videos on parenting but nothing can prepare you for that first sound your baby makes. You hear the heartbeat and see the black and white pictures from the sonogram but when it's real and your child is now with you in your arms you or I went mind blank. The books and everything don't tell you that you might pass out if you don't breath seems like common sense but you would be surprised to find out it's true. I hope it was the same for you as it was for me. Those feelings are an eye opener to let you know UMM I really wasn't ready. As time goes on it gets easier and you figure out you won't break your child and not everything is super dangerous. I had a bad habbit of moving everything away from the edges of counters and putting rubber bumpers on edges even though she was just a week old. The first picture is just me and my daughter clowning around. Moral is you will be scared on the day your child arrives in the world but it will be ok. Just be attentive and love your child and it will work itself out. Trust me you will learn so much in that first year it is ridiculous. Have fun with your kids and play when you can and thanks for reading. Have a great day.

Step up for Step Parents

Tonight at work I had a fellow employee and parent tell me he liked my post about mothers day and thanked me for mentioning step parents. I told him just because you are a step parent doesn't make you any less of a parent. Then he told me he was a step parent to three boys and felt like he was struggling to make that parental connection. He asked me how long it took for me to start to think of my step mom as a mom. I told him every situation is different and no two kids are the same. I may have thought of her like a mom after a year and his boys may take longer. I think it depends on the age of the child a lot and also how it ended with the parents.
   If the child is younger than two or three you will probably have an easier time forming that parental bond due to the fact they are still developing emotionally and if you show them attention and try to form that bond it is more accepted by the child because you are loving and caring. They will respond quicker because everything is new and easier to deal with.
   If the child is older four or five it tends to be harder because you can't take daddy's or mommy's place. If you let the child know you would never try to replace their parent but you would like to be there for them as a friend normally that is more accepted and easier to deal with as a child.
   Ten to teens well that's a hard fought battle because it's always harder when the bonds are already formed and you are trying to let the child know your there for them. Just give it time and keep trying just care and be there.
  It also depends on the way the child's parents split up. If it was on good terms it might be easier to approach than a situation that ended with fights and harsh words. Here is where age plays a factor as well. If the child is younger they might be more receptive to a kind and gentle approach. Just like I said earlier just care and be there. If the child is older they could have a wall up emotionally so they won't get hurt or feel like they are being left. It is a hard job to be a step parent but it is very needed in a family dynamic. A step parent that steps up is not a step back they are a step in the right direction and remember give it time and keep trying. You will make it. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Mothers Day

I just wanted to post something about mothers today seeing as it's mothers day. I wanted to thank all mothers for giving us the love and friendship we needed as kids and also the discipline we deserved when we were bad. My mom was always there for me good or bad and always had a mom hug that could solve everything. She loved me through bad girlfriends that stole from her and she never gave me any punishment or talking to I didn't deserve. My mother and I have a bond stronger than life even though I am adopted. I have her a kidney when I was 19 and I would do it again at 31. She has always been my rock in troubled times and a kind word when I am down.She didn't turn her back on me when I was going through heck with me ex and now she is there for my daughter and wife just like she was for me. I will always love you mom even when I haven't talked to you in a few days because of work and I haven't seen you in a week because I work nights remember I LOVE YOU MOMMY. Not afraid to call you that even at 31 years of age because you will always be my mom and most of all my friend.
   On the same token my wife is a great woman a great mother and a great friend. I may not always say it but she is my best friend and my soulmate. I could not imagine life without her in my life. She has stuck by me through thick and thin and always loved my parents as if they were her own. Believe me at times she could have left me and no one would blame her but she loves me even with my faults. She is the best mother to our daughter and I could not have hoped for a better mother and friend for our child. She is the glue of our household and she is a strong and positive role model for our daughter. My wife and I may not always agree on everything but I can tell you one thing next to my own mother, my wife is everything my mother is to me for our daughter loving, understanding, helpful, and most of all a great woman to look up to. So thank you to my mother and wife for being there for me and my daughter.
  My mother-in-law is another strong woman to look up to and I need to thank her as well. She took me into her family and made me feel at home the first time she met me. She is always letting me know we are family and she will stand by me and my wife no matter what. She is a positive person I am glad she is around my daughter and couldn't ask for a better caregiver and advisor. When my wife is at work and it's 3 am and I couldn't get my daughter to sleep she was there to lend a helping hand and teach me what she knows. Also she is always there when you need her and never lets you down in a pinch.

I can't forget Step Moms now. They have to step up and take care of a child that isn't even there's like it's their own and my step mother did that. She raised me like I was her own and loved me even though she didn't have to. She was there to help me with school and I'd I needed someone to help me with typing well she was there to teach and pass down knowledge. I know there are many diffenet types of mothers out there and a step mother is no different. They have just as much responsibility as a biological mother does but with theadded pressure of forming a bond with that new child and my step mother did it with ease. So to all the mothers in mine and everyone's families Happy Mothers Day and we love you!

The UFO Parent

In my first year of parenthood I became very aware of a problem I myself have at times. I call it UFO parenting and that is basically a style of parenting that uses a tractor beam style overwatch that never lets your child go near anything you consider unhealthy or dangerous . I was and at times still am bad about keeping to tight a grip on what my daughter is doing and that stops her from experiencing new things or going to the third level on the playground. This is not always the best approach to parenting even though it makes you feel better. Sometimes if your child isn't allowed to express themselves it can stunt their emotional growth and make them depend on you for even the smallest interaction. I know this is good in most cases but as your child grows older if you the parent are stuck in the UFO cycle it gets hard to break and can cause a rift between you and your child. I am the worst with my daughter when it comes to letting her play like she wants to play just because I think she can't do it. Because it is unsafe to me doesn't really make it unsafe to do. Like the third level at the playground not really unsafe but to me a giant unsafe platform she can fall off of. In my mind I need to hover over her to make sure she does not go to that level but when I am at work and my wife takes her to the playground there is a video of her sliding down the slide from the third level and waving from the catwalk on the third level. So my child can play at the third level and be fine I just have to break the block in my mind that says don't let her because something might happen. By the way something might happen everyday but we can't let that as parents stunt our child's experiences and their growth. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Pull the Pacifier

I don't know if anyone was wandering how to break the pacifier cycle but I have few tips to help you out. The first thing I did was start to just stop bringing it with us on outings. Well I had it in my pocket where she couldn't see it and it was a last resort if I really needed it. Most of the time I could sing the bad mood away or bounce her on my knee. In extreme cases I would pull out the lollipops and by the time she was done with it she forgotten about wanting the pacifier. She would want it if she saw another child with a pacifier and the only way to combat that is to try to get her attention drawn to something else. Another way to pull the pacifier is to try a teething ring or a teething necklace. We got a teething necklace that worked well if I was holding her. Also we worked the snack angle pretty hard. The snacks worked very well on outings and in the car not so much at home. At home the teething necklace worked great and the second best pacifier distraction was just a lot of playing and running around. Activities that get your child breathing fast reduces the chance they will want a

pacifier because their having fun. Really it just helps to get past teething and the teething tablets help relieve the pain that your child might be feeling. If that doesn't work ice chips helps numb the gums. Hopefully this helps you. Thanks for reading.