Day 45-- Going Out Like a Lion

{PSA: for those of you just stumbling across this blog, it might help to start at the beginning. At some point, I may try to reverse these posts into chronological order}


So this is it... President's day, 2011. Day 45 of 42. The last day of my parental leave with Sabrina.

We decided to end it with a roar.... by going back to the zoo.

Yes, I was very tempted to go skiing today, but the lure of spending extra time with the kids won out... besides, the snow's been lame. I guess we're having a drought year. There's not enough fresh powder up there to change my mind.

While everyone was still waking up, Jen busted out a new signing time DVD, so we all learned ASL signs for all the zoo animals.

As Jen was getting ready for the day... (girls..  8 years of marriage, and it still takes her forever to get ready for the day), Edgar and Sabrina and I (already ready already) got to spend some sweet time together. This is Edgar tickling his sister and making her smile:

We had a fun time at the zoo. We managed to not overlap very much with the last time we visited, and there's still a bunch of stuff we missed. Glad we bought a membership.

Sea Lion encounter. Yes, we've seen them in the wild and at the Sea Lion Caves, but these were HUGE, and right behind the glass from us.

The Orangutans were really fun. The huge male swung around right next to us. Then, this female hunkered down near the glass and let all the kids get really close to her. When a kid would get really close, she'd make a kissy face at them. It doesn't take much prompting for Edgar, so he kissed back.

Again, this was the view I got all day: Sabrina was my bjornling, and she was totally quiet and well-behaved. Someday, she may actually see the zoo.

Edgar drove this Jeep from the Cheetah enclosure to Mommy's house.

We escaped from the zoo with two overtired, hungry kids, and dropped in on my parents without any warning. I love my family. They totally loved the visit, fed us lunch, and let us take naps. I took a sizable nap in the bed in the same room as Edgar. When Edgar woke up yelling for mommy (and no one else), I rousted Jen off the couch, took a sleeping Sabrina from her arms, and took her place, taking another longish nap with Sabrina on my chest, while Jen snuggled Edgar down. All told, I think it was about 4 solid hours of napping. I will totally miss daily naps when I go back to work tomorrow.

We had a fun dinner with my parents, and a lot of good conversation. Jen held Sabrina while I ate dinner, then I took her during Jen's dinner. She and I had a grand time, and I even got her to laugh!

Sabrina, smiling at me

Grandma gave in to Edgar's demands and put lots of band-aids on his (now mostly-healed) hand.

Wearing Mommy's shoes, showing off the band-aids.

We love Grandma.

Please don't interrupt my last evening of peace.

So, we're back home in Salem, safe and sound. Both kids are sleeping. Jen and I got some necessities done, and it's now the time that I've been dreading... time to encapsulate all the past six weeks into some coherent whole... to decide if this whole experiment in blogging/child rearing/vacation/slacking means anything. 

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Jen suggested listing things I've learned. While I'm not sure that's the best way to present things, I can't think of a better alternative at the moment. So, without further ado:

Things I've Learned in the Last Forty-some-odd Days:

1. I LOVE NAPS.

 If there is one consistent theme to this blog, it is naps. Long naps. I love them. I've taken them almost every day that I've been off work, and I highly recommend them to EVERYONE. The world is so much better after a nap.

This picture is the theme of my blog, and by far my favorite picture taken at the zoo today.

Honestly, when I think about it, the number-one thing I will miss when I return to work is my daily nap. Sure, I'll miss spending time with the kids, but I'll get some time every day with Edgar and Sabrina. I won't, however, get to spend time napping.

I think our society would see less hate and evil if we'd all take a good afternoon snooze. I happened to mention napping in church, in front of the kids that I teach. One 8-year-old raised his hand and asked, incredulously, "you take naps?" I patiently tried to explain to him that there is a window of age between about age 5 and 15 where naps are for babies, and you don't want to take them. Outside that age window, everybody loves naps. Just not everyone can take them without getting in trouble.

So, I'm all in favor of the siesta.

2. Being a stay-at-home parent is hard work, but I could do it.

Wow. Taking care of kids is a full-time job. There's no doubt about that. Just keeping them fed is crazy. Add to that bottles, diapers, fresh clothes, snacks, and regular naps, and it's a wonder any parents can ever get their kids out the door in the morning. I have a renewed appreciation for what Jen and other moms do on a day-in-day-out basis.

That being said... (This is the part where I sound like a bit of a male chauvinist). It's a big job, but I could handle being a stay-at-home parent. (I know, 2 parents at home with 2 kids=not the same thing). I think I would make an awesome stay-at-home-dad. I could handle the diapers, the yelling, the tantrums, the feedings, etcetera etcetera. I'm not saying I could do better than Jen-- it's not a comparison, anyway. We'd have a lot of fun, and go lots of cool places. But... I can't convince Jen to go to work so that I can stay home.

3. Babies are cute.

Aww...

4. I don't miss work.

Not one little bit. Nope. I could get used to this.

5. Having two parents at home doesn't guarantee you can actually accomplish anything.

Adventures, check. Chores and projects? Not so much. Oh well. There will always be chores.

6. Don't pick a fight with your spouse within the first week of childbirth.

This is one I should've learned last time around. Those hormones on day 4 and 5 are killer. A new mom is not a rational being... more like a vengeful destroying angel.

7. Down with the Wiggles.

I don't know much about them, but the more I know, the more they make me want to hurt people.

8. He-Man is still rad.

And knowing the phrase "Power of Grayskull" makes you the raddest not-even-two-year-old in town.

9. Should I take up writing and photography?

I've had several people suggest that I should do more writing or photography. That's very kind of you for saying that. However, there are several thousand people with more talent and education in those fields, living in their parents' basement, unemployed. I'm glad I have a job, at least until the rock star thing works out for me.

10. Blogging is time consuming

...Actually, I pretty much knew that. Oh well. I was on vacation. I had time to burn, right?

It's been a real joy seeing Sabrina grow from this cute, mewling newborn to a cute, smiling, mewling 6-week-old. It's been fun watching Edgar completely lose it and revert to babyhood when the usurper-baby stole his rightful place in the kingdom, and gradually learn to love this little girl and to be a responsible big brother. It's been fun being able to team up with Jen. We work well together, and we've got each other's back, at least enough to make sure each other gets a nap every day.

In a way, I'm going to miss sharing my life with everyone. In another way, my life is pretty boring. Especially when more than half of my waking time is devoted to being employed.

Having both parents at home, for this 6 weeks, has really brought our family closer together. Edgar loves his daddy. Sabrina loves sleeping in my armpit. Jen and I have learned to work together (even if we can't share a kitchen).  We've learned to have fun and have adventures and parent without a net. It's been great. I highly recommend to any father who can: take some time to support your wife and kids. Any time.

I have had a great vacation-- time spent getting to know my family, helping out, and reporting everything back to you. This will be my last blog post... UNLESS someone wants to provide some sort of artist-development grant to allow us both to keep staying-at-home. I would blog every day, I'd do pictures everyday, we'd tour the world with our rock and roll band. We'd be the coolest parents on the planet.

Maybe we already are.