I have really tried hard to find things to keep us busy yet that are free.
Library is a great resources for any person but a life saver for a stay at parent. Place to relax,explore,get books,cd,dvd's have story's read and meet new friends. Its like a breath saver for a parent. All of these thing for free. Which is so nice, even if we had extra money we would use this often. Being in a town like Urbandale we can almost go to a different library every day. We only go to two right now Mondays and Thursdays.
Mall Living in the great snowy cold Iowa- You can walk around shop and not really spend money- Often times malls have a playground for kids. Negative? Parents are morons and sometimes have no control over there kids which leads to a pocket full of problems- But going early or when things getting crazy just leaving-
Parks- Well i look forward to warm weather and parks, but right now for Mr Mom its not much of an option.
Antique Malls This can be fun and can me a night mare- Again if you know you kid you can judge this better. Some place will be better then other. My son is great for 40 min, but i need to have full eyes on deck-
Mother groups- ( most place love having a daddy join) We have a place here in Urbandale Called Yost Family Chiropractic that does some great Mommy and me- Where they bring in great programs, often groups or business that charge but its free . Its a great marketing idea both for Yost and the Business they bring in. Because every town has Music classes, etc but its hard to pay for them with out trying it first. Places like this a great for a stay at home parent.
Bass Pro - Ok not a joke. have you been to a Bass Pro? A good hour to walk around and explore, every town a child and father would find fun. They have a huge fish tank and feed it three times a week. Where you can watch. A great learning town. Warning they throw in life fish to other fish- Me and my son enjoyed it but some might not.
All town and States will be different. Some will have maybe a great list but the key is to find things that are free and can keep you child attention, have fun and maybe learn a thing or two.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Taking leadership and notes
I have had order in ny life when I was single and had free time. Granted I should have been living life more. My mother always said I might have been mess but I always had thiongs in there place. That has been trown out the window however with married life.
But I have taken control of the daily plan with my son, taking notes- when sleep-eat-etc to see if there are any patterns in his postive days vs are negative days- Its a start to see if we can help with a sleeping better.
But I have taken control of the daily plan with my son, taking notes- when sleep-eat-etc to see if there are any patterns in his postive days vs are negative days- Its a start to see if we can help with a sleeping better.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Stay at home daddys
"All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers." - Orison Swett Marden
Monday, January 25, 2010
Great story about Stay at Home dad and Wife coaching-
Yori's in a zone -- coaching and being a mom
The last place Connie Yori expects to have a mom moment is while she's running her Nebraska women's basketball team through a workout.
Understand now, it doesn't matter what Yori's up to - when she's zoned in on something, she's completely into it. For example, while her unbeaten squad was in the midst of knocking off ninth-ranked Baylor in Waco, Texas, last Sunday, the heckling Bears fan who was determinedly trying to get the attention of Yori with some overly personal, inappropriate rants was the one who left red-faced. Yori, you see, was in tunnel-vision mode and didn't hear a word.
And so one day last fall when her two favorite guys - 5-year-old son Lukas and husband Kirk Helms - made a rare visit to practice, Yori was undaunted by the section of bleachers that had come unlocked from its stacked position and chattered into rows.
Until, that is, she felt the thud from someone having abandoned those bleachers for safe ground.
LUKAS!
"He jumped off there and the whole thing collapsed, and we thought something happened to him," junior guard Dominique Kelley said. "Everybody stopped and (gasped). But he was fine ... (and) when she saw he was fine we went on about practice."
OK, let's not throw mom under the bus. If there's one thing that could distract Yori from her job, it's her only child.
The one she gave birth to the summer following her second season at Nebraska - when she was three months shy of her 41st birthday.
For her, the experience is so rewarding that she makes up words trying to describe it.
"It's the awesomest, awesomest thing," Yori said. "I think of myself as a mother before I think of myself as a coach. That's way more important. And I don't mean coaching isn't, but ... "
Her situation definitely creates a special appreciation.
"I'm not a normal mom. I don't get to spend as much time with my child as a lot of parents do, so I really try to value that time," said Yori, who declined to have her family photographed for this story. "But it helps, because Kirk is home and he can be consistent with him ... so it works out good."
Yori and Helms were married for nine years before Lukas came along. The two met at an Omaha Racers game when she was the coach at Creighton, and his initial introduction as she walked by in a group didn't exactly make her heart flutter. But at another Racers game, Yori's friends, spotting Helms again, told her if she didn't go talk to him, they would.
She then discovered he had a huge interest in basketball (he officiated games, too), and a relationship blossomed.
Before Lukas arrived (fittingly, mom was officiating games at one of her summer camps at NU the day before he was born), most of Helms' days were spent juggling projects as an independent contractor.
For the past five years, he's made major cutbacks to that schedule to be a stay-at-home dad.
"Your life kind of happens," said Yori, who speaks glowingly of her two years coaching at tiny Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, but also remembers thinking, "How am I ever going to meet anybody there?" when she was trying to decide whether to stay or take a job at Creighton.
That choice, as well as one to leave her alma mater for Nebraska in 2002, worked out smashingly.
"I got an awesome husband, I know that," said Yori, joking that if anyone in their home is serving dinner at 6, it's going to be him. "Frankly, there's not a lot of men who would do what he does, so I'm very thankful that I met the right guy and got married at the right time."
Yori also is grateful that the career opportunities presented to her have allowed her to remain near her central Iowa hometown of Ankeny and Helms' Omaha family.
In other words, being at Nebraska is about as good as it could get. Especially now.
The Huskers, now 17-0, have never been ranked as high as their current Nos. 6 and 7 positions in the national polls. And all of this has happened during the last year before Lukas starts school.
"He stays up a lot until 10 or 11, where most kids that age are fast asleep," Yori said, "so that's the time I try to spend with him, when I get home and I've got that hour or two-hour window. That'll change next year."
What won't is her love of parenthood and home life.
"Her favorite movie is ‘It's A Wonderful Life.' That should tell you a lot about her," said Omahan Bridget O'Brien, one of Yori's college roommates. "People think she's just this competitive coach, but she's so ... generous and warm. Her home is always open."
And should you decide to drop by, Yori will even share her family. Well, some nights, anyway.
"One of the things she tells us is that wherever you are and whatever situation you're in, you have to devote 100 percent of the time to that, and you can't think about anything else," Kelley said. "So she gives us her undivided attention for these two-and-a-half, three hours (of practice), and then she sets it aside and goes home and spends time with her family. She emphasizes how important family is and how much meaning that has to her life."
Considering his wife's line of work, "It's like she has teenage daughters every year," Helms said. "But giving birth and being a mom, it's just on a totally different plane.
"As soon as practice and games are done, the first thing she wants to do is spend
The last place Connie Yori expects to have a mom moment is while she's running her Nebraska women's basketball team through a workout.
Understand now, it doesn't matter what Yori's up to - when she's zoned in on something, she's completely into it. For example, while her unbeaten squad was in the midst of knocking off ninth-ranked Baylor in Waco, Texas, last Sunday, the heckling Bears fan who was determinedly trying to get the attention of Yori with some overly personal, inappropriate rants was the one who left red-faced. Yori, you see, was in tunnel-vision mode and didn't hear a word.
And so one day last fall when her two favorite guys - 5-year-old son Lukas and husband Kirk Helms - made a rare visit to practice, Yori was undaunted by the section of bleachers that had come unlocked from its stacked position and chattered into rows.
Until, that is, she felt the thud from someone having abandoned those bleachers for safe ground.
LUKAS!
"He jumped off there and the whole thing collapsed, and we thought something happened to him," junior guard Dominique Kelley said. "Everybody stopped and (gasped). But he was fine ... (and) when she saw he was fine we went on about practice."
OK, let's not throw mom under the bus. If there's one thing that could distract Yori from her job, it's her only child.
The one she gave birth to the summer following her second season at Nebraska - when she was three months shy of her 41st birthday.
For her, the experience is so rewarding that she makes up words trying to describe it.
"It's the awesomest, awesomest thing," Yori said. "I think of myself as a mother before I think of myself as a coach. That's way more important. And I don't mean coaching isn't, but ... "
Her situation definitely creates a special appreciation.
"I'm not a normal mom. I don't get to spend as much time with my child as a lot of parents do, so I really try to value that time," said Yori, who declined to have her family photographed for this story. "But it helps, because Kirk is home and he can be consistent with him ... so it works out good."
Yori and Helms were married for nine years before Lukas came along. The two met at an Omaha Racers game when she was the coach at Creighton, and his initial introduction as she walked by in a group didn't exactly make her heart flutter. But at another Racers game, Yori's friends, spotting Helms again, told her if she didn't go talk to him, they would.
She then discovered he had a huge interest in basketball (he officiated games, too), and a relationship blossomed.
Before Lukas arrived (fittingly, mom was officiating games at one of her summer camps at NU the day before he was born), most of Helms' days were spent juggling projects as an independent contractor.
For the past five years, he's made major cutbacks to that schedule to be a stay-at-home dad.
"Your life kind of happens," said Yori, who speaks glowingly of her two years coaching at tiny Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, but also remembers thinking, "How am I ever going to meet anybody there?" when she was trying to decide whether to stay or take a job at Creighton.
That choice, as well as one to leave her alma mater for Nebraska in 2002, worked out smashingly.
"I got an awesome husband, I know that," said Yori, joking that if anyone in their home is serving dinner at 6, it's going to be him. "Frankly, there's not a lot of men who would do what he does, so I'm very thankful that I met the right guy and got married at the right time."
Yori also is grateful that the career opportunities presented to her have allowed her to remain near her central Iowa hometown of Ankeny and Helms' Omaha family.
In other words, being at Nebraska is about as good as it could get. Especially now.
The Huskers, now 17-0, have never been ranked as high as their current Nos. 6 and 7 positions in the national polls. And all of this has happened during the last year before Lukas starts school.
"He stays up a lot until 10 or 11, where most kids that age are fast asleep," Yori said, "so that's the time I try to spend with him, when I get home and I've got that hour or two-hour window. That'll change next year."
What won't is her love of parenthood and home life.
"Her favorite movie is ‘It's A Wonderful Life.' That should tell you a lot about her," said Omahan Bridget O'Brien, one of Yori's college roommates. "People think she's just this competitive coach, but she's so ... generous and warm. Her home is always open."
And should you decide to drop by, Yori will even share her family. Well, some nights, anyway.
"One of the things she tells us is that wherever you are and whatever situation you're in, you have to devote 100 percent of the time to that, and you can't think about anything else," Kelley said. "So she gives us her undivided attention for these two-and-a-half, three hours (of practice), and then she sets it aside and goes home and spends time with her family. She emphasizes how important family is and how much meaning that has to her life."
Considering his wife's line of work, "It's like she has teenage daughters every year," Helms said. "But giving birth and being a mom, it's just on a totally different plane.
"As soon as practice and games are done, the first thing she wants to do is spend
Friday, January 15, 2010
Nap time is like a MMA fight-
I just got a blood noise after a 20 minute battle with my 16 month old son- Not a joke, granted because of alleges my nose is like Rick Flair forehead, Its a easy bleeder. I think as a father and a stay at home daddy, I'm doing a good job with almost every aspect of this job. Nap time however seems to be a battle the young rookie is beating the old Veteran.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Mr Mom returning to Football?
I have had a great desire to play football again. No matter where or when as long its not a flag football game. Really league, teams, tackling, etc. There are many forms of pro football leagues in Iowa. Heck Des Moines has 2 women pro teams. But I was looking at the Iowa Eagles playing out of Fort Dodge. Why Fort Dodge, because they want me to play with the. So what does sime pro football play? Well you have to pay to play. Any where from $200 bucks to $500. How can I during a time I'm a stay at home Daddy and money is tight use $500 of the family money to battle that monekey? Plus the extra time and risk of getting hurt. MY wife can't afford me to be hurt and not able to take care of are Son.
Wait a year get in shape and play in Des Moines-
Play now and risk it-
Not sure-
Wait a year get in shape and play in Des Moines-
Play now and risk it-
Not sure-
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The good and the Bad of Mr Dad
Taking my son to a Mr Mommy group and getting to watch him play with others How many other father can say they had that chance. That was fun to have that chance.
http://www.meetup.com/MommyandMeYFC/calendar/10615847/
Thanks Yost Family Chiropractic for hosting the event.
The bad? My son going from giving me Kisses and saying I love you to him beating me in the middle of the night. He gets something like a nightmare which leads to Daddy losing some blood. Its such a roller cost of positive and no negative-
I would kill to have my son Sleep 10 hours 3 night a week- Might save daddy's life-
http://www.meetup.com/MommyandMeYFC/calendar/10615847/
Thanks Yost Family Chiropractic for hosting the event.
The bad? My son going from giving me Kisses and saying I love you to him beating me in the middle of the night. He gets something like a nightmare which leads to Daddy losing some blood. Its such a roller cost of positive and no negative-
I would kill to have my son Sleep 10 hours 3 night a week- Might save daddy's life-
Sunday, January 3, 2010
For the love of God kid Sleep-
I know parents at time lie or just don't answer the question 100% when asked how does your kid sleep- But can my son be the only one that never sleeps- 6 hours in a 24 hour span would be a great night and almost never more then 2 hours at one time. I have more then once the last few nights had breakfast at 2am and had a mid morning nap at 6 am- What to do? I would kill to crank up the Ipod and walk round the track for an hour, but I live in Iowa and at 9:30 at night I'm sure the temperature is near 0 degrees and the many feet of snow would stop me from that- Well in more younger age I would have tackled that challenge in shorts, but in my mid 30's that would lead me in the ER and I'm trying very hard to avoid that this year-
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