Being a Single Parent....When you have no team.

I always talk and sometimes blog about how our family is like a team.  I love sports and teams are a huge part of the sports world, so that is why I usually try and make family and teams come together somehow in the ways that they work.

One thing I don't know about is being a single parent.  Never have been and hopefully will never be one either.  Breaking away from the team concept of sports, I am interested in what sport single parents think relates to them the most. I know that single parents have the extended family that can be considered part of the team, I am simply talking about the Single Parent. Just Them.

For example, Golf.  Golf is a single person sport in which you do play against others but you are trying to be better than you were the last time you were out playing.  Takes so much thought and you have to make sure that you do it almost perfectly.  You have no help, no one to pick up slack when you hit a bad shot.  You can have bad shots and want to break your clubs.  Kind of like having a bad day with the kids and wanting to lock yourself in the bathroom.  Its just you against the rest of the field of golfers.

Take tennis. I love tennis. But again, its you against that person across from you. Its a fast paced and hard hitting sport that can run you around all over and yet at the end of the match you may still wind up a loser. You may have so many fans clapping for you but the other person across from you might be better than you on a given day.  You can have moments you want to retire from a match, kind of like giving up on a day when the kids are too much, but you stick it out.

T was raised by a single mom. I was raised by a single mom for 10 years. Both of our parents had help from grandparents.  You could maybe consider those grandparents as the staff trainers or asst. coaches.  But her mom and my mom had to do by themselves for a long time.

Its hard being a parent when you have a loving, dedicated hard working spouse to do it with you. When you have a team and you can rely on that teammate to help get you through that hard time it makes you see that you can do it and someone does have your back.

TEAM PARENTING

This may be my favorite and best example of how a teammate

has your back during the toughest of times.

(Michael Jordan Flu Game)

SINGLE PARENTING

Often times a golfer misses a putt that seemed to be so simple

but just like parenting, nothing is ever easy.

Probably harder when doing it alone.

As a married man, and never having to do the hardest thing in world which I believe is raising a child by yourself, I am interested in hearing about what YOU the single parent has to say and what sport would you compare being a single parent to.

Kiss The Baby

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Being a Single Parent....When you have no team.

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Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding...Why the Public is scared of one and Not the Other

I am a breastfeeding dad.  Yeah, I know sounds dirty and nasty but what I mean by saying that I am a "Breastfeeding Dad" is that I support the act and the art of breastfeeding 100%.  I support the act and the art of breastfeeding in public 110%.  So many post have been written by moms, dads, myself included about breastfeeding.  So many post have been written in support of this and so many have been written about the support of doing it in public. Some people seem to want to voice their opinion on breastfeeding in pubic and how they seem to find it...well, there are so many ways to describe how some of the haters and detractors feel about it, I don't think I could list them all. You can go to blogs, fakebook, twitter and just see the overwhelming number of people that love it and the overwhelming number of people that don't.

Years ago before I actually did a little maturing I would bash the women that formula fed by saying how bad it was and I was really talking out of my ass and not really using any knowledge of situations and or reasoning behind a woman's decision not to breastfeed and to bottle feed. I have grown and I now understand that while I do truly believe that breast is best, some moms just have to do what they have to do.  I may bash parents on some parenting skills or parenting decisions but how you feed you baby whether it's breast or formula is not one of them.

He is where I start to get a little pissed about some things. These thoughts are my opinions and you may agree or you may not agree. I understand. You can call me names, say bad things to me, unfollow me, whatever but I am speaking from the heart being a dad that loves the fact that my wife has breastfed all four C's and has done so in public and is still breastfeeding a two and a half year old in C4.

I have already stated before that SOME women get blasted by SOME people for breastfeeding in public.  I know that there are some moms that formula feed that get looked down on by the breastfeeding moms.  I am not trying to make this a battle of the moms and how they choose to feed their babies, but what I am trying to point out is that I believe (notice I said I) that only one of these groups gets harassed, abused, verbally assaulted, jabbed in the media, looked at wrongly, and have things said about them in the social media in a negative way, and it's not the group that formula feeds.

I have never seen or heard of a parent that is formula feeding their baby and had something said to them.  I have never heard of them being asked to move or cover up.  I have never heard of Target asking a parent feeding their baby with a bottle to go into a changing room or restroom.  I have never heard of citizens being so offended by parents formula feeding a child.  I haven't seen (and I could be wrong) tweets from people talking badly about parents formula feeding in the food court of a mall.  I mean I could go on and on about why I personally don't like formula. I think formula smells.  You have to warm it up before you give it to the child.  Some of it has been recalled.  I could bring up facts that show formula feeding your child doesn't make them as healthy as breastfeeding does.  Some hospitals push formula instead of pushing breastfeeding.  Some much can be said for reasons to do either. But when being done in public only one group gets slammed.  And I think that's right.  Neither group needs to be slammed.

I just don't get it.  I 100% believe that breast is best, but with that being said, if a parent is going to formula feed fine, a baby has to eat no matter what. But I feel (Again I said I) that formula feeding parents get a pass in the public as to where breastfeeding moms don't.

This is the shit that pisses me off.  And I also believe that parents need to stick together and support each other no matter how the child is fed.


Kiss the Baby

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Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding...Why the Public is scared of one and Not the Other

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My First Lego Video....How We Became

Everyone knows and has read and lived the same ol the story of how T and I met and then we had kids and now we live our crazy life one day at a time...blah blah blah.

Today I am going to tell you how we became us in a little bit of a different way.

Well I have been wanting to do something for a long time and I have finally taken that first step and dipped my toes into the cold waters of making a video. I have shot videos of the kids and stuff and just posted them as is but this is the first time I have ever MADE a video.

So if your ready for it...here it is.

How We Became



Well short and sweet for the very first of what I hope becomes many in my adventures in Lego Movie Making. 

It wasn't easy.  First I had to hunt for and then hijack the kids Lego's.  When I wasn't finding what I was looking for I had to ask the kids and they didn't like the idea of me keeping their Lego's for any extended period of time.  C1 actually was upset yesterday because I still had his Lego Pirates hair.  It is still a work in progress but it was fun making a little Lego family and then taking the pic's and making the video.  I am excited to be making more soon.

Now I cant end this post without giving credit to the man that is behind all of this. John aka Daddys In Charge is the  Lego man. He has a great Daddy Blog and he makes the ABSOLUTE BEST Lego videos of his kids and includes himself and his wife. He even includes us other bloggers and even made one of me and the repo business.  Go check out his blog...I promise you will love it.  So I have to admit, I am trying to copy John and make kick ass videos like him, but it is all out of respect. 100%!  Thanks John for the influence and I hope to make a video that will make you say "Damn I taught him well"

Kiss the Baby

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My First Lego Video....How We Became

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Moneyball.....More than a Movie. A lesson in Life.

Moneyball.  A true story.  Can it be more than just a story about baseball and a guy who sought to change the game? Well to me it was. When I rented this movie this weekend I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it was a real story about sports and I love sports. The longer the movie went on, the more I got into the actual story of Billy Beane and what he was actually wanted to do and what he was about as a person.

Being the best of the best at one time when he was younger everyone believed in him. Everyone.  Once he started failing, people started to lose that belief in him. Everyone including himself.  That was the hardest part for him. He didn't believe in himself.  So he stopped doing what he once loved...playing the game of baseball.

Being in a different position later in life in the sport he loved, he had to regain that confidence. But the confidence he once had in himself, he now had to have that in the players that he signed to play for his team.  The players he would be signing to his team were players that were in the same spot he was in many years ago. Players with no confidence for some reason. Players that no one wanted.  Players that were told they had no shot.

The biggest thing that he learned and accepted was that if you really believed in something, no matter what it was you could do it. And it was the right thing.  He had one person that believed right along with him. Everyone else balked at what he was trying to do. They all laughed at him. Told him it wouldn't work.

This is what I got out of this movie.

What does it take to make it happen?  And by *IT*, I mean anything.  All it takes is the idea or dream you have and YOU.  Two things. That is all it takes to make it happen. Have you ever had something that you really believed in and people doubted you?  All you have to do is believe in yourself.  And if you believe in yourself, you might even find others that believe in you too.  Confidence is key.  It can either make your or break you.  You have it or you don't.  If you have it, it can be spread to others. People know if you are confident and can see it, feel it, feed off of it.  If you don't have any confidence then people can sense that too.  The greatest thing about what I'm trying to tell you is that this is true for both adults and children of all ages. 

Billy Beane believed in himself and what he was trying to do. That is why it was successful.

No matter what you are doing or trying to do, if you believe in yourself...

Then you can make it happen. 

Kiss the baby

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Moneyball.....More than a Movie. A lesson in Life.

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The X Games. Just for the FUN of it.



FRIDAYS FINAL THOUGHTS

If you are a sports fan, then there is no doubt that you notice things like I notice things. You may have your favorite sport and watch other sports or you may just be a general sports fan and kind of catch it all.  Me, I love football and basketball. Those have been my favorites for many years. But since having kids that do crazy things and being a lover of doing crazy things myself a new sport has stolen my heart within recent years.  It is actually more than a sport, it is a series of sports.....

The X Games. The Winter and The Summer X Games.

I noticed something last night as I was watching the games in bed with T.  In the heart of battle and fierce competition these guys all get along. They may not be friends (which most of them are friends), they may not be from the same country (they come from everywhere) but they all get along. They all cheer for each other.

Last night in the freestyle ski event, there was one guy who was smashing a record for points and I think the other competitors were just as excited for him as he was for himself.  They were all celebrating with him.

You never see any of these guys and girls hanging there heads. Throwing a snowboard or a skateboard across the way and getting mad. No, what you see are kids, guys and girls doing the stunts that they love to do, whether it be in their backyard or in the local streets.  They do it and they all have fun trying to outdo one another.

In a world where athletes are pushed to be the best they can be these athletes push themselves to be better than they were the previous stunt. They don't have the mega million dollar contracts that other sports stars do. They do get paid from endorsements and other signing deals from companies but nothing compared to the major sports.

If you are a sports fan, do me a favor. Check out ESPN this weekend and just watch a little bit of the Winter X Games and see if you can notice what I notice. See if you can see what I see.

The fun.

Have a great weekend

Kiss the Baby

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The X Games. Just for the FUN of it.

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Would You Call The Police On Your Own Child?

Has there ever been a time when your child did something that you wanted to cover up and maybe even did cover up?  Have you ever protected your child from the punishment that he or she would receive for doing some kind of act that was unlawful?  Is there an age limit?  Does it depend on the act?

If you want to go to the radio shows page I listen to to read about what this dad did here is the link The Bert Show. 

A 30-year police veteran made a decision that anyone would make. He turned a kid into the police for beating another boy along with seven other teens in an alley and then posting the video to YouTube. What made the decision hard for this police veteran is that the boy that was seen on the video and then turned in was his own son.  That's right. His own son.



Friends and relatives saw the video and knew who the boy was. The only boy in the video without any kind of mask on. The father then was called and he watched the video for himself and as soon as he saw what had happened he called the police. He later said that if he had waited...he might not have.

His son was charged as an adult, was officially charged with felony aggravated battery and robbery charges, and his bail is set at $100,000.

WOW. Now I hope that T and I are doing a good enough job raising the C's that we will not ever have to even worry about this.  But what a hard decision that would be. Turn your kid in?  Shelter your child and protect him or her from the trouble?  Where do you draw the line. I know beating someone is different from stealing a piece of candy or a toy when the kids are young. It is a matter of just taking your child back into the store and letting the embarrassment factor be enough?  What about when they get older?  Does it come down to how a child was raised?  Maybe. Maybe not.

You would think that a child of a police officer might know better.  Was it the influence of other kids? Hanging with the wrong group?  So many factors could be involved. 

What would you do as a parent if your child was the one in that video?  Right now as of this moment, I am going to say that I would turn my child in as well. I will protect my children from things in this life probably for as long as I can. I am their father and that is what I do.  They learn. But they don't learn anything valuable from committing any kind of crime and then getting away with it. Lessons are hard and sometimes the best and most valuable lessons are the hardest ones.  Just like the police officer father, if given the extra time, I too may back out of calling the police.

What would you do?


Kiss The baby
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Would You Call The Police On Your Own Child?

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My letter to the Captain of the Costa Concordia - Francesco Scheltino

Dear Captain Francesco Scheltino,

     Due to the recent events in which you decided to let your ship the Costa Concordia hit a rock which tore a 160 ft. hole in the side of the ship you have pretty much ruined any chance for me to take a cruise on the Disney Dream.

You being the Captain made a poor choice that has made it pretty clear that neither my wife or myself feel safe at all going on a cruise ship with our children.  I don't know what in the hell you were thinking as you let that massive ship hit that rock but you have got to be the biggest dumb ass in the history of the cruises.  I'm sure you had to have taken some kind of class to drive that big ass ship and navigate it through the sea's, I only wish that the school you went to wasn't taught by SpongeBob SquarePants.  In recent weeks I have come to find out that the Octonauts could have done a better job with that large boat. 

So with YOUR ship looking like this now

I can pretty much guarantee you that I wont be stepping on board a cruise liner in the near future.  I heard reports and statistics that the percentages are very low of these things happening but you and your awesome nautical skills that you learned from watching Gilligan's Island have made it more public the dangers of being on a cruise ship.

I also want to thank you for being the courageous man and staying with YOUR ship. You did exactly what a Great Captain should do in a time of distress and danger. Oh shit, wait. Wrong Captain. You are the one that says you accidentally tripped in a lifeboat and made it to shore and since it was dark you couldn't return to help the others that you left behind.  So while you may be rotting in a jail cell for a short period of time, the time it will take for me and my wife to feel comfortable enough to take our kids on the Disney Dream will be much longer. So to end this all I have to say is Great Job, Jagoff and thanks a lot for screwing up the one chance I had to take a cruise.

I will feel much safer being on this boat as a result of your error.

Sincerely and forever not your fan,

Scott aka This Daddy.


Kiss the Baby

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My letter to the Captain of the Costa Concordia - Francesco Scheltino

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