Fatherhood Friday - Here's What Happened...

It is Friday! I look forward to Fridays for a couple of reasons. First, it's the end of my work week and I can walk away from my desk and not have to answer the phone, check email, or do anything work related for two days. My wife and daughter are at home all week while I sit here and watch the clock at work. It makes me crazy because I'd rather be with the both of them so on Friday when I can pack up for the weekend I can't wait to get home.

Friday night is also good for something else. Once our little one goes to bed my wife and I celebrate with a pizza...It's our own little pizza night. The routine is the same every Friday. First it's bath time, then she gets fed, I call for the pizza, we tuck the baby in and I go pick it up. By the time I get home we can just relax. We are big fans of the shows on USA especially Monk, Psych, and their latest series White Collar. So we eat our pizza, catch up on the week, talk about baby girl, and just unwind with some mindless TV.

Time is very important in a marriage especially when there are children involved. We're new at the parenting game and it would be very easy to lose track of our marriage in all those dirty diapers, teething, play time, etc. We need time for us and pizza night gives is just one of the ways we get that. It seems small, but it works for us...I can almost smell the pizza already!

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Sleep in Saturdays, the greatest idea ever!

I started this blog as a place to vent. It is a place where I can come and talk about what it's like to be a parent. But somewhere along the way I didn't really account for the time it would take to actually parent, go to work, spend time with my wife, sleep, eat, occasionally shower, and any number of other things that steal my time now that I am a new parent.

That said, I haven't had the time to really put effort into this blog. I had high hopes and have fallen short of my goals...That is a little disappointing, but when I take a step back and think of every time I've seen my daughter smile at me in the last couple of months I don't even care. No matter how bad or stressful my work day is, I know that when I get home to my wife and baby girl nothing else matters. So I am going to try to resurrect this blog, but I won't do it at the expense of my family time.

I'm sure at this point you're wondering what has been going on since my last post. I know you're constantly checking the site, waiting for what I have to say next or wondering if you'll ever hear from me again. Have no fear. There is finally something new to add.

My wife recently came up with the greatest idea ever. It's called 'Sleep in Saturdays,' (or Sundays depending on our plans). The idea is this: My wife and I will take turns sleeping in on Saturday. It's that simple, when it's my turn to sleep in, my wife will get up with the baby, feed her, dress her, and take her out for a couple of hours. When it's my turn I'll get up prepare a bottle, try to dress her, and take her out for a couple of hours.

It really is a sanity booster. By the end of the week, we're both pretty beat and the opportunity to sleep in recharges all of those exhausted internal batteries. Not only that, but when it's my turn to get up with the baby I get the added benefit of daddy-daughter time that i usually miss during the week.

If you don't have a rule like this in your house I strongly suggest you give it a shot. My wife is brilliant. It's ideas like these that deserve Nobel prizes not silly advances in atomic physics or penning an obscure book no one has ever heard of.