Hello Interwebs,

I know. It's been a while. Sorry, but I have these things called kids and blogging and dining out at nice places just don't mix. Yeah, I'm the guy trying to hold one kid while feed the other while the wife cleans up some spill or another from one or the other kids. It's fun and chaos. I don't know how my parents did it. My parents were great and they raised us well and they talk us all the right things, they were principled and patient. We got into arguments but mainly because my sisters and I were just jerks. When I found out I was going to be a parent, my wife and I talked and set rules and thought out how we would raise them. We were going to read them books, play classical music, travel with them, cook all their meals and all that other stuff.

We tried all that but at the end of the day, we just got by doing what we could. You get into a pattern of survival. A book could keep a kid entertained for about 15 minutes and then they might go to bed. A bath could buy you 15 minutes depending on the temperature. Dinners are just...well...you put a lot of work into it and they'll eat two bites and demand something else.

I have two daughters and I love the deeply. I will do what I have to do to keep them fed and in clothes. Recently, my wife got a good job so I have been working from home. I take the oldest to daycare and then come back to take care of the 5 month old until she takes a nap. I've been able to get online work for consulting, research, writing and finance. It pays the bills and it gives me something to do. It's the first time in my life when I haven't worked a 9-5, ran my own company, or headed a startup. Raising two kids is just as demanding, if not more demanding. It is also very rewarding.

As a househusband, it also gives me time to evaluate the whole baby food and baby economy. It's pretty crazy stuff. You stick a baby label on something the price jumps up 30-70%. Organic baby yogurt is $3.00 for 4 tiny portions. I was like nope. So...I just get organic milk and a yogurt starter and make my own. I do the same for popsicles, bread, and snacks. I love to make spaghetti with my daughter and she loves to eat it. Sure, it takes a little more time but if you look at the labels of the baby products, you see all of the additives and junk they throw in there.  

The favorite thing my daughter likes are chicken fingers which I will make a large batch of and then freeze. I throw them in the oven and serve it up with rice and some veggies. 

Cleaning is also fun. I have one of those robot things that does the vacuuming and then I just mop by hand. 

Uh, oh. Baby is whining. Time to get back to work.

Dan