Saturday's sayings

So today Rylan used an inappropriate phrase for a 5 yr old. 

Use this as a constant reminder that children are always watching and soaking up what they see and hear. 

Educate appropriately and don't forget that sometimes they need I learn themselves.

Crazy days

So it's been yet another hectic, fast paced week.  I can't believe it's Friday already. After working all last weekend, I started out a little slowing going into the week. 

Tuesday morning, I took care of a few errands that needed to be addressed. When I completed all of my errands, Ingrid, Kaden and I decided to go for a swim at her moms. How relaxing. 

After our swim Tuesday, we got to go out for the first time since Kaden's birth by ourselves. Ingrid's mom Rose watched him for us. 

She's so beautiful. 

Ingrid took me to a Mexican restaurant which I'd never been to before. It was delicious. After dinner it was off to the house for some well needed rest. 

Wednesday flew by as we just lounged around the house most of the morning. I paid the bills and took care of some paperwork while Ingrid was cleaning the house. That afternoon we met up with our neighbor Bob. Organized a little BBQ and by 3 in the afternoon, the party had started. 

Finally around 1130 that night we wrapped things up as the bonfire was dying down. 

Thursday was a day to take care of the yard work early in the morning before the heat came. Bed time came early as I needed a quick nap before heading into work. 

Work has been busy and challenging at some points but volumes are up and that a sign of economic growth. 

Friday morning was pretty laid back. Sat out on the patio with a few neighbors until 11a or so. Ingrid did some birthday shopping for Rylan but I unfortunately was tired and needed to rest up for another exciting night of work. 

With another exciting weekend planned with all the kids and Ingrid, I find myself yet again a little bummed out while getting ready for work. Night shift has been a different change of pace for us but we're fighting through it. 

Until I return from work in the morning, I will be jealously thinking about you. I miss snuggling with my sweetheart but its key to remember that it's only temporary. Excited to pick up Rylan and Lilly in the morning, I will try my best to rush home to get them. 

Sweet dreams to all my loves ones, family and friends while you enjoy this beautiful evening. 

Saturday's Saying

Every day I attempt to live life to the fullest. I have a wonderful life and am blessed for all the good things in my life. 

3 healthy, beautiful children that are keeping me young. A magnificent girlfriend who I cherish and adore. A loving mother and father along with 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Not the mention the oodles and oodles of friends and relatives. 

Amidst all the negativity around us we have to remember to count our blessings and enjoy life to the fullest. 

Out happiness is a choice that we have to make. Keep in mind that our happiness is not determined by what happens to is but how we respond to it. 

Put best in Kung Fu Panda - There is no good news or bad news. It is only news.  You are the one that determines how to take it.  (I like kid movies)

As we go through our daily living, count your blessing and be thankful for what we have not what we want or what others have. 

To all my family and friends; thank you for being the loving and caring people you are. I can not express enough gratitude towards you all. Without you I wouldn't be the person I am today. I love you all and may you be blessed in your day to day living. 

Nothing in particular

Finally Friday.  Well for me it's Friday because of my schedule.  So excited to spend today with my family. We are planning on going swimming this afternoon but a much needed nap is in store for me.

As for the events to my week, work work and more work. Volumes continue to increase at work while we're gearing up for for a transition to a newer, larger state of the art facility. Unfortunately that is not until October 1st so for the time being we just have to make due. 

I've recently started assisting a friend in his business of home repair/home remodeling. That has been interesting and I'm excited for the potential it may bring. A lot of days consist of me not getting enough sleep so I'll have to work on that. 

Our vacation to Minnesota is coming up quickly. We are all excited to go.  Rylan and Lilly can't wait to go to grandma and grandpas. It a frequent question we have to tell them not quite yet. 

The family is doing good. Rylan and Lilly have been with us all week. It's been a lot of fun. They are growing too fast. Kaden is getting big and we think he's started teething. Ingrid is still awesome and everyday I fall in love more and more. 

That's what's in store for daddy's days. Hope that you all have a safe and blessed day. 

Look dad

Is what I hear before Rylan dunks his head under the water. Today was the final day of swimming lessons which was pretty much just a day to play in the pool. 

Both Rylan and Lilly both got to go off the diving board. 

Kind of exciting. It was more like being 'pursuaded' to go off the diving board. Rylan enjoyed it and went several times more but Lilly was not too impressed.  I think it was more exciting for me and although they did not pass their lessons this year, they have made tremendous strides towards mastering the art of swimming. Hopefully we'll be able to have plenty of practice before next summer. 

After swimming lessons today, I ran a few errands, ate a quick lunch before helping Bob mow his yard. My yard was not needing to be mowed yet so we just got his out of the way. After mowing it was down or a nap as I will be working tonight. 

While sleeping, my sisters and Ingrid made dinner. Pork chops with twice baked potatoes. It was delicious. Ingrid also attempted to make cinnamon rolls again. This batch turned out excellent. 

Yummy. They even look delicious. 

I didn't get too much Kaden time today. Tomorrow will be another day and I'm excited for a long weekend with all 3 kids and Ingrid. Especially with MaryAnne, Rosemary and Cecilia visiting. We are in store for an enjoyable time with many memories too be made. 

Off to work I go once again in the events of daddies days. Wishing a fabulous night to my loved ones at home. Missing you dearly and wishing to be with you. Sweet dreams to you all until morning arrives. 

Let the fun begin

This week has been such a blast. Not really but we can't always have fun. 

This week has consisted of nothing but problems at my apartments and I feel I've spent more time there than at home lately. Everything from tenant conflicts to replacing an AC unit and water heater. 

Enough blah blah....... Myself and family have been great. Ingrid has been really supportive of my extra work lately. Rylan and Lilly have been with their mom all week so the house has been pretty quiet.   I'm excited to pick them up in the morning for their last day of swimming lessons. 

Ingrid's made some cinnamon rolls this morning. 

When I got home she told me that most of them got burnt, all except the last batch (maybe they were just so good she ate them all). There were a few left and they were delicious. I fall in love with her cooking more and more every time she cooks for me. 

Our purchasing of a house is still in motion. We are current waiting for the mortgage company to do their underwriting. The house appraisal will be taking place next week. 

Here it is. Ingrid is excited as am I. She likes the kitchen and I like the pool. 

Either way, we have decided together that this is the house we want to raise our family together and grow old together. 

My two sisters, MaryAnne and Rosemary along with MaryAnne's daughter Cecilia came to visit for the weekend. They got to KS around 5p this afternoon. I was not able to spend any time with them yet but anxiously await having some family time this weekend. I'm not sure what we'll be doing yet but I know that on Saturday, I'm going to fire up the smoker. Ever since working nights I've lost touch with my outdoor cooking. 

I may even see what the neighbors are up to as I've been a stranger around there lately. 

I'll be working the next two nights which I'm not looking forward too. Not that I mind work, more that I won't be able to snuggle with my sweetheart. 

Off to work I go wishing Ingrid and Kaden my love as once again, as a part of daddies days, I'm off until the morning. Sweet dreams to you all and may your evening be filled with happiness even while we're apart. 

Just one of those days

So luckily the washing machine was an easy fix. I'm pretty handy but when it comes to appliances, I have a lot to learn yet. Bob came by and had it up and running in just under 30 minutes. Gotta love good neighbors. Ingrid's promised to make some of the cookies that Bob and his wife Dorris love so much. 

I had a crazy dream that my truck had been stolen. I woke up in a panic and never was able to fall back asleep. That was around 2 this afternoon. So instead of sleeping Ingrid and I went to the house we're looking at buying just to look around some more. Ingrid wanted some of her own pictures too. I only got one. 

Isn't that just beautiful 😉. And no I wasn't referring to the bathtub. 

Odd enough when we pulled up, there were people swimming in the pool and it wasn't the current owners. Weird right. All we can assume is that they're friends/neighbors of the current owners just enjoying the gorgeous day. We didn't bother them, or ask questions, just went about looking around. 

Afterwards Ingrid made some delicious breakfast burritos for supper. I'd put a recipe up but it just bacon and scrambled eggs wrapped in a tortilla. Still one of my favorite meals. Extremely simple too. 

While eating dinner I had enough time for two episodes of my favorite tv show Desperate Housewifes. I know I know, so not your typical guy but for some reason I could watch it over and over again. All 180 episodes. I might have even shed a tear after the last episode. 

Finally the moment of truth, 545 and I have to leave for work. Working nights is my too fun and for those of you who have never had to work nights, count your blessings. It brings a lot of unnecessary tension into all aspects of your life. But we must all remember 

Once again another one of daddies days, I am thinking and praying for Rylan a Lilly as I was not blessed to spend time with them today. And missing my babies Ingrid and Kaden as they're home alone while I'm at work. Wishing that I could be holding all of you on this beautiful evening. Until tomorrow morning sweet dreams to all. 

Broken washing machine??? Only on Sunday.

Well Sunday morning is off to a fabulous start. Tired from work, I come home to a broken washing machine. Just what I wanted to do today, deal with broken appliances. Maybe it's mad because I was cursing at it yesterday lol. I called my neighbor Bob, who is retired from the appliance industry, to come take a look. Hopefully it's a simple fix. I'll have to update y'all later as he's not shown up yet. 

Ingrid's gotten into extreme couponing so we clipped coupons together this morning for a few hours as our way of spending time together. I know, we're weird. I think it's something we could both get into. Although I know I should get some sleep, here I sit watching a movie and daydreaming aimlessly about the thought of us purchasing a house. Which by the way, we're going to look at it again and take some of our own pictures today at 4p.

Work last night was fairly decent. I've recently tried to quit smoking and I always do great until we have a stressful night on the job. Last night was one of those night. Everything was running smoothly until just before lunch and production came to a screeching halt. Like they say "if you never had a bad day at work, then you'd never be able to appreciate the good ones"

So much running through my head....... So much i should do........ Should I do this, or that or neither. Can it wait until tomorrow? I'm busy most of the day tomorrow and don't know if I'll get any sleep but there is so much I want to get done. I miss Rylan and Lilly already. I dropped them off with their mother last night. As all parents do, I constantly wonder how they are doing and if they're alright. Not that I have any reason to.  One nice aspect is the house is very quiet. Just wishing they we here with me so I could see my little ones. Kaden spent some time in the Johnny jumper last night and this morning. He's not one for jumping yet but enjoys sitting in it. 

I think I'll drift off to sleep for a few hours. Pretty uneventful morning. Hoping and praying the washing machine will be an easy fix. I just have to remind myself to be thankful for the wonderful things I have and not what I don't have. Keep true to my roots on what's important. Family, friends and happiness. I'm off to bed and that's daddies days. 

Engagement Ring? Just a promise ring

Wednesday was Ingrid's grandmothers memorial service. Although sad circumstances, I was able to meet some more of her family. During the conversation with Ingrid's cousin, the jeweler, I was given a cute idea for a ring. 

Cute right. I know it's not much and not an engagement ring yet. It will come with time. Just a fancied up zip tie. Kinda cheesy but its a memory that we can joke about for years to come. 

Then came Thursday July 4th. My pervious post sort of showed off the fabulous idea for t-shirts to wear for holiday festivities. Here is the final outcome. 

Yes we've turned into the family that coordinates outfits. I thought it was pretty awesome. 

Friday consisted of tearing apart a piano for scrap metal. It's always fun to demolish things. Left a big mess in the garage but that'll all be good fire wood. 

After tearing that apart, I met Bobs brother and we have a peaceful evening enjoying some adult beverages, good conversation and good company. 

On another note we made an offer on the house we liked and they accepted the offer so hopefully Ingrid and I will be homeowners before the new school year. Yay - excited. 

Off for work another night but not before collecting rent from the apartments. 

Once again missing my loved ones Ingrid, Rylan, Lilly and Kaden.  Wishing you all sweet dreams until the sun comes up tomorrow. This all from just another one of daddies days. 

Long eventful weekends

It's been a few days since my last post so I'm sorry for ignoring y'all. It's been a busy week. My oldest 2 children, Rylan and Lilly spent the first few weeks of June at their moms. This was the first week I've spent with them since being transferred to night shift. 

Amidst working nights and having 3 kids at home, Ingrid has continued to be a huge help. She is wonderful at allowing me to get some needed rest on my work nights, helping with meals and keeping the house clean. She is so wonderful and I can't tell her enough how much I love her and everything she does for me. 

I'll start with Saturday morning. I worked Friday night and luckily made it home before all the kids woke up.  About the time I'm climbing into bed, Ingrid was informed that her grandmother passed away at 93 yrs old after a long drawn out battle with her health. She was extremely shook up over the loss. I can't express enough sympathy for what she's having to go through. I wish i could take all of Ingrid's sadness and sorrow away from her so she would not have to hurt. 

After insuring she was emptionally stable to watch the kids I dozed off. I ended up sleeping until noonish before being woke up by Lilly. After only getting 4 hours of sleep, I struggled the remainder of the day but made it through. We didn't accomplish too much. I was trying to just spend some quality time with Rylan and Lilly. Our excitement came from making bubbles outside and then watching the neighbors set off fireworks. Saturday night we fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. 

Sunday morning rolled around and go figure, I'm up at the crack of dawn. For some reason, I always revert back to a day schedule. It never makes for a good first day, I mean night, back to work. Sunday morning was pretty laid back. We played with bubbles, watched some tv, built a train, colored and much much more. Sunday afternoon came by and there were a few open house for some new construction in our neighborhood so we decided to check a couple out. Both Ingrid and I really liked the few we did look at but were disappointed the the basements were not finished. After looking at a few houses, we chose to take all the kids swimming for the afternoon.  Boy was that relaxing. We went swimming at Ingrid's mom's community and just by coincidence, all the others swimming were leaving when we got there. How fun?  We had the whole pool to ourselves. 

We invited some friends to bring their kids swimming as well. It was just a great afternoon with friends. Don't the ladies just look lovely. 

After swimming, it was back to Nani's for some refreshments and some burgers off the grill. Finally as the sun was setting, we headed home. It had been a long exhausting day for Ingrid, I and all 3 kids. I was just happy that all 3 of the kids fell a sleep in the car and remained asleep for the remainder of the night. It was the first time in a week or so that Ingrid and I were able to have some time to ourselves.  

Monday started off with a bang.......  Off to swimming lessons. This was the kids second year in lessons. They did not fair too well last year so I was relieved that this year was off to a better start. After swimming lessons, we stopped by our realtors office to pick up some baseball tickets won in a drawing. Yay, something we can go to at a minor expense. Of course there is a firework stand next to his office so to appease the kids, I broke down and bought a few to set off for the kids. More exciting, we got a good lead on a nice house for sale from our realtor. We set up a viewing for later in the day. We just drooled in excitement until 5p when we could go look at the house. 

Meanwhile I took Rylan with me as I went to an apartment complex I own to finish cleaning out a unit and meet the new tenant. After about 30 minutes at the apartment, that turned very old for Rylan.  What was originally planned as a quick visit, turned into a four hour ordeal as I had to make a few repairs while at the apartment. Finally on the road back home. 

It was just about 5 when I got home so we rushed to get in the truck and head to view this house. Luckily it's only about 5 mins from our house now.  

This house we looked at was immaculate. Ingrid and I fell in love with it as soon as we stepped foot in the door. And it only got better from there. After discussions later that night, we've decided too move forward with purchasing. 

Tuesday morning was sort of a drag. I had a meeting at work which began at 8am. So much for sleeping in. Our meeting was very productive as well as informative but it did last until 1130. At that point I'm thinking that a chance of some sleep before work is pretty slim. On the travel home I received a phone call from my mortgage company regarding a home mortgage. I'd been approved and could move forward with purchasing the house. Yay we are so excited. 

I attempted to take a nap but between the excitement of being approve for a mortgage, the kids playing, not being tired and a lot on my mind, I didn't sleep but an hour. Ingrid had a neat craft project she'd wanted to do with the kids but was still lacking a few key parts. Because we were all up, off to Target for the last items needed for our project. White T-shirts. From Target, I headed straight to work, joy joy, and Ingrid took all the kids home. Just a little bit later she sent me a picture of the kids crafts along with a text stating "Kaden's doesn't look so good...note to self should prob use fabric paint when 2 adults are home"

This all in preparation of course for July 4th.

Activities like this are just another one of the million reasons I love Ingrid and am blessed to have such an amazing woman in my life assisting in raising the kids. 

And that my friends is what consists during daddies days. Off to work I go, jealously dreaming of being at home with the ones I love, Ingrid, Rylan, Lilly and Kaden. Sweet dreams to you all.