Found this song on YouTube while watching videos of Yo Gabba Gabba and Sesame Street on the iPad with Maddie. It is my official theme song now.

Today was Maddie’s second session of Toddler Fun, which is essentially a preschool preschool. It’s an hour of basically a classroom setting but with zero rules. Theres a ‘teacher’ but she’s more or less like a facilitator providing the kids with crafts and cleaning up the messes. She doesn’t teach because the kids are 2 years or younger and they barely do the crafts. In this class there’s 4 other kids and their Moms (yes, I’m the only dude in this class of course) and we mostly do the crafts and kid wrangling. So for the first half hour Maddie goes around the room playing with everything and anything, from the decades-old toys to the books to the blocks. Last week she didn’t do the craft at all but this week she did some of it in-between her running around. Then they have a snack and then the teacher does some sing-a-longs, reads a book or two and then plays some music. Maddie somewhat cares but all-in-all she’s respectful for not causing too much trouble. It’s hardly easy to make sure a toddler maintains any classroom decorum. If they don’t bite another child then it’s a success in my book. 

Yet I can’t understand why I am so stressed these past two classes. Why do I feel like she has to be better behaved than she is at home? By that I mean that since it’s a class or a school-like setting do I think that if she doesn’t sit still for the songs or the story or even look my direction for the craft than I’m a bad parent or she’s a bad kid. It’s absurd to feel that way I know, especially since I know she’s a great well behaved girl. I just get a little stressed I think because there’s other people involved. Even before we had Maddie I never even entertained the idea of taking her out to dinner at an early age especially at prime times. Even now we respect the environment we take her to whether it’s for eating or traveling. The last thing I want is for her to act out or have a fit in public especially a restaurant and suffer the embarrassment of being that couple with the obnoxious baby. I guess I embarrass easy in that regard. I don’t know if it’s pride or courtesy but it stresses me a tad. So I think when she’s walking away from the parent-child circle when the teacher is singing a song, I get a little agitated because I may be thinking that the teacher thinks Maddie doesn’t give two shits about her or the song or class and I foolishly think it is a bad reflection on us. But I always have to remind myself that SHE’S 20 MONTHS OLD!!

Christ, if I’m thinking this now what will I stress about when she’s in middle school? 

Happy New Years and welcome to 2011. First day of the year and I’m tending to both my girls with stomach flu. My wife is handling it so far OK but Maddie is fighting it like a champ. I don’t know if it is because I’m home with her but she’s only been sick twice with a cold since her birth. Out of all the kids we know that go to day care Maddie is by far the one with the best health track record. I myself is rarely sick but gets sinusitis every time the seasons change but it’s more of a nuisance than illness. But this is Maddie’s first stomach ailment and it wasn’t as easy as a common cold. In the middle of the day without any food we had to wait 2 hours of non vomiting until we could give her a meager teaspoon of pedialyte. Sipping that teaspoon was like finding an oasis in the sahara for her. Now we also had to wait 15 minutes between those teaspoons to make sure it stayed down. Luckily it did but those 15 minutes were the longest me and my wife have ever waited. Maddie cried, screamed and even thrashed around like a feral cat until she got some more nourishment. It was like a temper tantrum times ten. Finally we gave her a whole bottles worth of pedialyte and afterwards she was her old self. Took a short nap and woke up happy and hungry. Meanwhile my poor wife is getting worse so I essentially was taking care of both of my gals. 
Right now they are tucked in and sleeping soundly and I watched a quick flick, ate some left overs and drinking some Scotch (it is necessary after a day like today plus I think the alcohol kills the stomach virus; I had Scotch last night for New Years and it’s the reason I’m giving for so far not getting sick, so I’m trying it again). I gotta admit that I’m feeling very good at the moment…I took care of two sick girls without losing my mind all day. Battled one of the worst ailments of my daughters, so far, life with the worst crying bout i’ve seen her give since July of 2009 without cursing or losing my cool which I am aught to do in high stress situations and I’m still in good spirits despite all this. Now it could be because Maddie seemed to be feeling better later in the day and even laughing and playing but I think with the new year and this new blog about being the Stay-at-home Dad I think after a day like today and how successful I was today I think I’m finally getting the hang of this. To be able to still feel good about my situation and to handle not only one crisis but two I now I am doing a great job. I can definitely say I am the right man for the job. It has always been important to me whether if I was a manager of a movie theater or a baseball umpire or a graphic designer to confidently say I am doing a good job to the best of my ability and can effectively handle it. Nothing displeases me more than someone who is completely under qualified for a job, especially who works alongside me or above me. But anyway as 2011 starts (not so greatly) I’m looking very confidently and joyfully ahead in knowing I’m not only getting better at all this but that I’m still enjoying every day as a happily married man and as a SAHD. Cheers!