Kidneys, Kettlebells, Car Repair, Migraines, Fishing, Diapers, and Stay at Home Dad Stuff

Tag: kids (Page 3 of 7)

SAHD Friday: The Truth Hurts!

I am sitting here today in a small conundrum. I had a post all ready to go about patriotism and teaching your kids pride in the country but I just couldn’t publish it today.
You see, the old cliche’s about how fast kids grow up is slapping me in the face like so many cold fish from that old Monty Python sketch. go ahead and watch it, it is only 15 seconds.

I have known for well, 10 years now that I someday will have a 10 year old. It was inevitable. Time doesn’t stop. I have been trying to talk about it a lot lately to get used to it. Today however, the big fish hit. We have been preparing for Leatha’s birthday party. Her first slumber party. Today is the day and it just hit me that my daughter is getting this close to being a teenager.

She is not too far away from driving and college. She is still 20 years away from a boyfriend though.;) I guess that having the new baby here is really putting some perspective on things. We now have all of our kids and the next babies that my wife and I will be playing with will be our grandkids. In 25 years or so. 😉

I know I am getting older, I finally don’t feel like a 14 year old kid most of the time, but I still don’t feel like 36.  I have finally given up on all of the assorted BS that kept me somewhat repressed and timid for all of these years.  I am only concerned with my immediate family now, everyone else is just there to bring gifts on holidays.

I know it has been said before and will be again, kids grow up fast.  10 years goes by like a flash, it seems like Leatha should be turning maybe 6, not 10.  Enjoy every minute that you can with your family.

Being a Stay At Home Dad has afforded me several opportunities to watch my kids grow and develop in those intimate moments when they think no one is watching.  It is a perspective that is very valuable towards finding great Christmas presents because I feel that I know my kids and their personalities fairly well.

Anyone can do it though.  Watch your kids.  Spend time with them.  Throw a ball around with them in the yard.  Let them help when you fix the toilet or patch the wall.  My son is very excited about the new belt sander.

All in all, I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.  I love my family and cant wait to see what happens when we have that 18th birthday party.

Have a great Weekend, go do something fun with your family.

-Justin

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HopeKids

Hello folks!  Today I wanted to tell you about an organization that we belong to.  It is called HopeKids.  HopeKids is  non profit charitable organization that is all about helping families of kids with terminal diseases and afflictions do “normal” things.  They primarily were founded with cancer kids in mind and have since broadened out to include all sorts of diseases including, heart disease and Kidney disease.

They recognize that all of these diseases affect the whole family.  They are permanent diseases that can be treated somewhat, but in most cases kids can’t do things that other kids can.  Most of the kids in HopeKids here in Utah are immunocompromised, including my daughter.

Please visit http://www.firstgiving.com/ameliaskidney and sign up to be a sponsor for our team!

If you don’t know, immunocompromised means that they are in treatment for especially cancer, or they take drugs to suppress their immune system so that the cancer cells can be killed or, like my daughter, so she does not reject her kidney transplant.  Most kids in this situation have to be very careful where they go because they can get sick very easily.   Even a simple cold can turn into pneumonia because these kids can’t fight the bugs.

HopeKids gives families a place to go where everyone is special because everyone has some disease.  It becomes very close knit and it is great when you go to a place where people understand what you are going through and all of the kids can be treated normally.

I can’t tell you how many people would turn away or walk away from us in the store when my daughter had a feeding tube in her nose.  Or if they caught sight of her dialysis catheter that was in her upper chest wall.  I saw people look in horror as we would give her medications.  And she did not have many things to show.  There are kids with breathing tubes, as well as feeding tubes, or wheelchairs or crutches.   I have seen people avoid all of these type of kids.

HopeKids doesn’t.  No one cares what these kids are hooked up to or what they have in them to keep them alive.  No one cares that some are bald from chemotherapy or that they have to wear a mask to keep any germs out.  I still make my daughter wear a mask about half of the time, and that is over a year out from her transplant.  No one thinks twice about that at a HopeKids event.

What kids of things do they do?  Movies, arcade visits, plays, we have seen the dress rehearsal of the nutcraker from a pro ballet troupe for the past couple of years.  They do a birthday party each quarter for the kids who have birthdays in that quarter, and each kid gets a personalized present from HopeKids.   We got to go to this event: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700031968/Hope-Kids-offers-a-modern-fairy-tale-for-children-with-illnesses.html.

All of these events are free to the HopeKid and the family!  Which brings me to another point today.  While HopeKids is always looking for donations, we are participating in their yearly fundraiser.  It is a 5K run/walk or an adventure walk if you prefer.  Here are details from the site itself:


Date: Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Time: Registration starts at 8 AM, Races start at 9 AM

Fundraising Goal: $40,000

Come and join us for the 2010 HopeKids Wasatch Adventure taking place at the beautiful This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City!

All proceeds to benefit HopeKids Utah.
HopeKids is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Get a fundraising team of up to five together and choose one of four activities to participate in:

  1. The Adventure Walk: Suitable for kids and families, walk the Park grounds visiting each of our Adventure Stations.  You never know who you might meet!
  2. 5K Walk.
  3. 5K Run.
  4. Remote Participant: If you are unable to be at This is the Place on September 11th, feel free to get one or more teams together in your community and walk or run for Hope!

When you walk or run to support HopeKids, you are raising the spirits of hundreds of kids and their families in their greatest time of need.  You are giving them the gift of HOPE!

It’s simple. Use this page to create your team fundraising page. From there, share the team page with family and friends, and spread the word about your WALK OR RUN FOR HOPE. You can walk the 5K or run the 5K.

You can collect “offline” gifts of cash and checks and list those on your fundraising page. Bring those donations with you to the Run/Walk in an envelope clearly marked with Team Name and total enclosed. You can also collect everything “offline” and not use a fundraising page.  (All checks made payable to “HopeKids”)

We hope you will show your support of HopeKids with your time and energy and help raise money when you come and WALK OR RUN FOR HOPE!

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Like last year, there is no registration fee, but we are asking that all teams raise a minimum of $100 for participation in the Wasatch Adventure.  Team sizes are limited to 5 participants.  If you have more participants, consider starting a second team!

Encourage your family and friends to support you! This could be donations to your team, or they could join your team and create their own fundraising page. Or they could create their own team and compete against you!


So Here is the deal, our family is going to participate in the Adventure Walk.  We are going to strap on the hiking boots and get the baby in the stroller.  We are looking for sponsors for our walk!  We are looking to raise $100 or more by the September 11th deadline.  If you can possibly help with $1 or two, I would greatly appreciate it.  All of the money goes directly to HopeKids and helps to fund the yearly activities that we can be a part of.

Please visit http://www.firstgiving.com/ameliaskidney and sign up to be a sponsor for our team!  As a bonus if you do sponsor our team, aside from the gratitude of our family and the satisfaction you get from contributing to a worthy cause, I have some free bonuses for you.

All of these products are very interesting and helpful.  They all come with Master Resale Rights as well.  The products are:

  • Starting your own online business: 96page ebook plus bonuses
  • How to develop the guts to talk with anyone: 46 page ebook plus bonuses
  • 404 Self improvement tips: 119 page ebook plus reseller icons and logos.

Please donate any amount to our cause at http://www.firstgiving.com/ameliaskidney and send me an email to justin@justinsbrainpan.com letting me know that you did.  I will immediately send you all three packages!  I will not even add you to any email list unless you want me to.

Thank you in advance for any and all help that you can give!

-Justin
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SAHD Friday: Raising the Baby

Hey folks, I was inspired today.  I started off to write about how nice it is that my older kids are wanting and able to help with the new baby.

That still will be a focus.  However, my oldest daughter was watching a TV show and the two teenage boys on the show were babysitting.  They obviously didn’t know anything about kids or babysitting and it was hilarious to watch these kids run around and try to get the baby’s diaper changed, and get the baby to sleep.  Really reminded me of the post I was thinking of!

It really reminded me of watching my kids with the new baby. My kids are all about helping us with the baby.  They both really want to feed and water the baby as well as hold him.  OK, water is just kidding.  But they really want to help.  Bath time is fun, they argue over who gets to wash his toes and who gets to lotion his back.

He is very pampered (Groucho voice: “In more ways than one, if you know what I mean.”) by his siblings.  It is exciting to see them want to change a diaper or hold him so that I can use the bathroom or rotate the laundry.  It is nice when they help calm him down when he is crying.

I am glad to give them that chance, I was not old enough to help with my sisters so when my first daughter was born I was very much a rookie.  I hope that my kids will have at least a familiarity with how to care for a new baby.  Except for the new baby that is, he will have to rely on being the Uncle who helps when my oldest has kids in 30 years or so. (is 40 too old for kids????)

Any thoughts or questions?  I would love to hear from you in the comments!

-Justin

I guess Winter is here!

Check your local listings but here in Utah we have had more snow in the past 2 weeks than we have had for years.  There was actually enough snow for me to get my snowblower out  a few times, last year it didn’t leave the shed.

So it brings me to this, when did it go from 60 degrees one week to 12 the next?  I haven’t finished getting my roses pruned  or my air conditioner covered and there is much snow to contend with.  I have a couple of big trees that still have leaves on them.  But the kids are having fun playing in the snow.  Even in the Blizzard warning from last Saturday.  Technically it was a blizzard but even that wasn’t that bad.

Left to right: Amelia, Leatha and Cameron playing in the snow on 11/28/10

Change is inevitable, and it will always come at a time that we may not want it to.  Just remember this, adversity DOES make us stronger, and we can all just deal with the snow.  If you don’t like it, move to Florida.

Let me know what you think about or even how the weather is at your place.

-Justin

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