Blog Number 168

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well the wife is gone this weekend (PJ's, Polka Dots, and Promises Conference) so it is just me and the kids.  The kids and I have an agreement when "Mom" is gone.  We agree that there are really no rules (specifically no "Mommy Rules").  Actually we just say that "Daddy Rules" apply which is not really saying anything since the only rule is that there are no rules.  Anyway, we don't get too crazy.  It usually means that bedtime is extended (until they collapse on the couch and I carry them to bed).  It also means there is a little extra desert for everyone.

Some really bad storms came through the Dallas area last night so we were watching the news for details.  This limited what we could do as far as going out for dinner.  We ended up making a Burger King run (no pickles, ketchup or mustard please on those Cheeseburger Kid's meals) and got it To Go and came home and watched National Treasure (which we had seen before).  The daughter fell asleep on my lap around 8:20 but the son made it until the end of the movie (10:00 PM).  I spent the night on the couch (I like sleeping on the couch for some reason - which is upsetting to the wife since she cannot punish me by making me sleep on the couch).

Breakfast was a run to the Young Donut shop in East Allen.  They were very busy.  We really go there for their kolaches.  I had never seen these things in Indiana but they are everywhere here in Texas.  The kolachis here are basically a yeast roll with a tiny sausage and some cheese crammed inside but they are still good.  I don't like taking the kids out by myself (without my wife).  When I was living in Kokomo, there was a very high divorce rate (I think we were the divorce capital of the US for a short period of time - I seem to recall we had about a 70% divorce rate - with the national average being around 50%).  Anyway, growing up in Kokomo if you saw a man with children on the weekend you could bet it was just his weekend to have custody of the kids (you could also tell by the general unkempt look of the kids that dad was in charge of grooming that day).  For some reason I am still concerned how people look at me when I am out alone with the kids so I make extra sure they are wearing clothes that match and that the hair is combed well.  I just want to shout, "I am married, I am just getting kolaches while my wife is at a conference!"

Due to the rain we did not have a soccer game this morning.  It was scheduled at 10 AM but we might still have one (it is rescheduled for 1 PM but I am waiting on a phone call to confirm).  I am offering up prayers for a NO vote on the game.  It is still cold, wet and windy but we have had to cancel a lot of games already so the soccer people want to get games in real bad.

The wife will be home around 4 PM so I only have a few more hours of single parenting.  This is just enough time for the kids and I to practice our story of how healthy we ate and how we went to bed at a normal time (I am going to push for credit for making our bed too even though I did not even sleep in it - shhh don't tell).

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon