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3 Ways to Determine Your Family is Feeling Overly Stressed

If there is one thing that is synonymous with parenting, it’s sleep…or, lack there of to be honest. And while many of us joke how we cope with the loss of sleep, or how much coffee chug just to avoid ending up in a orange jumpsuit – the loss of sleep, and how it effects the body and mind is a serious topic. That’s why I’m happy to have a guest author Sarah Cummings from SleepAdvisor.org to talk about this very issue.

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Stress is an inevitable part of modern life. For short periods of time it can be perfectly normal, your body is designed to cope with it and it can even give you the kick up the behind you need to get things done. Continue reading “3 Ways to Determine Your Family is Feeling Overly Stressed”

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Daddy, Dis Way

 

Every morning is the same. The routine is always the same…until it isn’t.

It’s moments like this; the shroud of mundane that is associated with parenthood, is stripped away. What was, just moments ago, the same boring routine, is now the sudden realization of how much time has passed; how much has changed; how much has happened, and how much you’ll miss going forward.

It was just yesterday,  I was buckling you into your car seat before we left the house…yet somehow today, you’re walking…no, sprinting ahead of me, calling out, “Daddy, dis way!” I am suddenly struck by how much I love you. Continue reading “Daddy, Dis Way”

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Finding Peace Through Decluttering

Disclosure: I was provided product to review from SONGMICS, but all opinions are my own.

I truly hate cleaning. I absolutely detest having to pick up and put things away. And anyone out there who has kids will tell you; that’s about 70% of parenting. The other 30% is split between yelling at those same kids for the mess they made, and you’re about to pick up; yelling for them to stop fighting; yelling at them to quiet down; yelling….well….just more yelling.

But, the thing I hate more than having to pick up after others is…a mess. I can’t stand mess!!

Continue reading “Finding Peace Through Decluttering”

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5 Awesome #CampingHacks from a Dad


Disclosure:  This post is in collaboration with Jellystone Park Camps and Resorts, yet all opinions and hack concepts are mine.
I love to go camping! I know, you’re probably finding that hard to believe, considering how much of an introvert and lover of laying on my couch, that I am. But it’s true! It’s one of the only things I miss about being in the military.
I didn’t appreciate it at the time, because like most things, youth is wasted on the young. But looking back now, going to the field or going camping (as everyone back home thought that’s all we did in the Army) were some of my best memories. You wouldn’t know it then, because we mostly complained about having to go out for drills and do exercises (I’m not talking about jumping jacks and sit-ups here, people).
Some of my fondest memories are of the (borderline genius) hacks that we soldiers would come up with to make life out there easier. Like the time we made a homemade portable shower. Continue reading “5 Awesome #CampingHacks from a Dad”

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Is Love Enough??

“Uhhh, so what?!? Love is not enough!”
The words slammed into me like a baseball bat. Shocked and shaken to my core, I quietly sat; not daring to say another word. I could feel the words still floating around the room – watching me, waiting for me to say something else so it could remind me again. A voice, deep inside spurred me – poking me, “Come on man! Fight back! Do it for love…do it for you!!” But I remained silent.
I’ve always found it odd how there are times I can’t recall what I did in a single day, yet, I can remember back to a single moment in my past; a moment like this, and recall it in such vivid detail. Maybe it’s because of the impact it had on me, or that I still carry around the invisible scar these words left behind. Or, maybe I’m making too much of it, and it’s just how our brains work. But I will always remember this day – this conversation, for the rest of my life. Continue reading “Is Love Enough??”

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The Speech I Would Have Given at Mom 2.0…Had I Won

As many of you already know by now, I recently went on a bit of an extended trip; hoping to the West coast, and even leaving the country for a bit. The first 3 days of that trip, I hung out in beautiful, Pasadena, CA, where I attended the 2018 Mom 2.0 conference. Why would a dad be hanging out at a mom conference? First off, stop being so judgmental. Second, I was honored to be nominated for a 2018 Iris Award, for Best Dad Blogger of the Year (about damn time, lol)
The Iris Award is like the parent-blogging version of the Oscars. Ever since I started this blogging journey, I’ve wanted to win one. But, alas, the beautiful statue remains beyond my grasp…I did not win. As cliché as it sounds though, it *really* was an honor to be nominated.
Continue reading “The Speech I Would Have Given at Mom 2.0…Had I Won”

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Use The Force to #RoarForChange

The best week of the year us upon us once again – Star Wars week, and today is the best day of that week. Why?!? Because it’s May 4th….get it? May the 4th be with you?!? Duh!
With the release of the new Solo stand-alone film just a short three weeks away, the excitement is building. And in honor of the beginning of the story of our favorite space smuggler, and his faithful Wookie friend, General Mills Cereal is launching their #RoarForChange campaign.  Continue reading “Use The Force to #RoarForChange”

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I Felt Abandoned; When I Needed You Most

I needed you, and you weren’t there for me. I need you…YOU!! I felt all alone. I felt abandoned; when I needed you most.
Have you ever felt this kind of alone before? Alone because, no matter if it’s true or not, you feel those closest to you have abandoned you; left you in your darkest hour. Left you reaching out into the darkness of depression and anxiety; only to find no comfort, no matter how hard you reach. No one to hold you; no one to comfort you. No one to reassure you and tell you things will be ok; that the claims depression make against you are lies. No one to tell you, you are loved…or that you’re even worthy of that love?
I know this feeling all too well…and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Have you ever…been the person that abandoned someone in need? Refusing to set yourself aside; if for nothing else than because you’re their person? Or the fact that YOU are the one person in this world that can actually make a difference; that can actually help in this situation, but instead, you’re too focused on you.
I know how that feels too…and I will have to live with that; hearing the words that started this post, in my head, for the rest of my life. Continue reading “I Felt Abandoned; When I Needed You Most”

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Lost in Familiarity with #TheNewKia

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves” ~ Henry David Thoreau
A friend once told me, “The problem with self discovery, is all the self you discover.” At the time, I can remember internally scoffing at, what I perceived as a lame attempt to sound deep; sort of chuckling a little and answering with my go-to “throw away comment” of, “Yeah, I hear ya.”
I turns out, I did not hear her at all, because I’m literally living that saying, right now. Or, maybe it’s the complete opposite. Maybe I’m not discovering much self at all, because I feel lost.
Continue reading “Lost in Familiarity with #TheNewKia”

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Reignite the Spark with a Sexy Heart2Heart Talk This Valentine's Day

Easily one of the MOST frustrating aspects of being a parent, is trying to have a conversation with your kid(s). Not a day goes by that I don’t see on social media, or experience myself this scenario right here:
Me: Hey, how was your day today?
6yo: Fine.
Me: Oh yeah? What was the best part of your day?
6yo: I don’t know…riding the bus, I guess.
Me: Did you learning anything cool in school?
6yo: (shoulder shrug)…Sure.
Are you kidding me right now?!? Two minutes ago I couldn’t get the kid to shut up about his Lego Ninjago set, or some Sponge Bob episode. But now that I want to know about his day, it’s like having a conversation with a mime over here. Continue reading “Reignite the Spark with a Sexy Heart2Heart Talk This Valentine's Day”