What you think does matter

Here I was, getting everything ready for school: * 5 yr old bathed and dressed [ checked ] * brushed his teeth [ checked ] * lunch for school ready [ checked ] * gold ring for girlfriend [checked - what ?????] That is right, I found a gold ring [ costume jewelry ] amongst my 5 year olds things as I was getting him ready to go to school. When I asked him about it - he smiled and slowly told me it was for his girlfriend ... his girlfriend? First I wanted to be proud - my boy is a stud... then I thought, what the heck he is only five... then I thought again - what a stud.... then back to, who the heck told him to give the girl a ring ???? I thought it was bad when he would occassionally mention that he liked a girl in school. Hey, all kids say that. Then one day he said he had a girlfriend [ ok not too bad, everyday it was a different girls name so it can't be too serious ] But a ring, who the heck gives a girl a ring at age five. For goodness sake it wasn't until I was 10 that I ...

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING A message every adult should read because children are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life. When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always talk to, and I learned to trust in Him. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we...

Woman not stronger - men just stupid I found a leak in the master bath [ sink ]. It wasn’t bad but enough to eventually do some damage. So I put a bucket under the sink and proceeded to make sure I knew exactly what was broken, what needed to be replace and of course don’t spend a lot of money [ if you remember my water heater experience - that was a mess ]. So after figuring it all out [ I thought] I told my wife that I was off to home depot. She responded by saying: “ you don’t love me like you use to anymore.” What? What was she talking about? Where did this come from, what did this have to do with the leak? She continued “ Before if I asked you for something you would do what ever you could to get it for me, now you don’t. it’s like you don’t love me any more…” sob, tear, … I’m not sure how it happened but my dilemma with the leak became a test of my love for my wife. I thought fixing the pipe was an example of my love, you didn’t have to tell me three hundred times to fix it? You ...

Kids, more kids and no time. It’s been a while since my last post. Not because my life is boring but because it’s so consumed with the things that have to be done. School started so last more running around - books, taking them to school, homework, friends coming over to visit more darn home work. If that’s not enough - my wife decides to put my five year old son in flag football. Oh geez…. Look I think it’s great that he is getting involved, has a place outside of school to rough house and make friends. The practices are good for his health it’s just so darn time consuming and some of those sports mom and dad are nuts. Really - whackos, just plain whack jobs. The first day I was able to leave work early to go to one of my sons practices - proved to me that this was going to be a waste of my time. First I sat at the side of the field watching the kids play and then practice… I love my son, but I could have been doing something more productive. Then I had a mom and dad sitting next to m...

Replacing the Water Heater - funny story, don’t laugh The water heater went out and it needed replacing. Ofcourse, I was told that all that needed to be done was replace the heating elements on the water heater… no problem, sounds easy……Not ! I bought the heating elements for the water heater - and found out it was the wrong kind.. Returned to home depot to get the right heating elements for my water heater… did it work…. No ! So finally after 5 weeks of being unable to go to home depot to by a whole water heating unit [ and suffering many a cold showers ] I finally was able to go get a brand new water heater - even 10 gallons bigger than my old one. So you want to hear a joke? How many trips to home depot does it take to replace one water heater? Apparently four trips... One to by the water heater unit. Another to get the pipe fittings. A third to get the right pipe fittings and a fourth trip to get the pressure release pipe and fittings. Thank God it only took one time to actually ta...

Making Money is not evil - being poor is evil... It’s a quote from a book I just finish reading : Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad Poor Dad . It’s an interesting read - I know I’ve read it twice and the reason why I bring up this topic “Making Money” is because of the economy. Really - I look at my kids and I wonder … have I wasted my life. Have I been so busy in the pursuit of my own happiness that I can’t offer more for my children because I thought wanting to make more money was “evil”… or maybe because I was scared or too lazy to try? This kind of book - how to make money or the mentality behind it really makes you think. Yes I know - I’m not trying to make it rich or even become rich over night. But I do have that urge to do more, make a little extra so my kids can have it easy. If anything - learn a couple of money managing or wealth building skills I could teach my kids so they don’t end up like dear old dad - a slave to a job - always wondering if this recession or hard time will de...

Sorry I'm late with my 4th of July antics - I wasn't sure if I should post it. It really was a wacky kind of time. To start with I had to work that Saturday - which was bad enough - but in the morning before I left for work - my wife calls me all franticly. Apparently my neighbor was sprawled across the ground in his driveway. First I thought he was dead - then possibly hurt - but no, he was drunk. So I had to help in into his house... Nice start to my week end. Then on Sunday we went to the beach { I hate the sun } and as I tried to enjoy myself, thou concerned about my sons safety as he carelessly played in the water with large waves batting him around - we experience a scene with a lost kid. The kid was about 3 yrs old and people were making a big scene. Ofcourse the dad showed up just in time to stop the local authority from taking his kid away [ 50 minutes later ] goodness gracious. And my wife wonders why I am so over protective of my kids... a drunk next door, missing ki...