Pinxav Review! Wow, this stuff works great!

    Pinxav changed the game for us on diaper rash and skin irritations.  With 3 kids, all aged three and under, we had to find something that worked for diaper rash, and worked fast!  Check out the review!  

Click here for more info on Pinxav!

Structure is Key! - Stay Sane During the Coronavirus Shutdown

     Life is chaos right now!  Kids are out of school, daycare may be closing, you may be working remotely, and many other new adjustments.  We don't know what knew restriction will come about by the end of the day to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, and we are simply trying to figure out what tomorrow looks like.
     Our routine has not just been thrown off kilter, its been shattered.  Kids go to daycare or school, you go to work, pick them up, come home and have your nightly routine.  This has been the norm.  Now, you have kids at home while you're trying to work, they may or may not have school work, and you are all trying to stay sane at the same time!
     Structure, Structure, Structure!  Even if you aren't a Type A personality, we are all used to structure in our daily lives.  We like to have a plan for our day, know what is happening next, know how and when we can get our work done, and simply know we will be able to get work completed.  All of these things are compounded in kids.  When your schedule is off, it automatically throws off you kids' schedule.  Kids like freedom, but they also want to know what to expect.  There is a difference between structure and micromanaging.  Having a schedule and letting your kids know when things are going to happen is completing different then telling them what to do every second of the day.
     During the next few weeks, your kids need structure more than ever, as do you!  When kids know when things are happening, even if they can't tell time, they know what is coming next.  When they know what is next, they don't ask you for a snack 30 times when they know they will eat really soon.  Creating a schedule with your child lets them know that you have a plan, it will be stuck to each day, and then you don't have to try and figure out what time you are doing something.  There will definitely be some bumps throughout the day, especially at the beginning, but as they get used to it, they will see the consistency.  If your child is in daycare, try and keep them on the same schedule as what they are on at daycare.  If you have a school aged child, create a schedule with them, give them some ownership in the process.  This helps foster your relationship, trust, and let them know that you truly value their voice and opinion.  Bedtime is just one example of this that should stay the same.  Check out this article from NPR and the affects of consistency of bedtimes with healthy children!

This is one idea, and the Free TV Time area also says "bath & shower time" which is how we are using it in our house.

   I would strongly suggest creating a schedule for yourself as well!  Getting up at the same time, eating at the same time, and taking breaks, will all help your body with the anxiety and stress of these new times.  Build in time for yourself that is not a part of work.  Talk with your spouse or significant other and make sure each of you has some alone time, it is KEY!  You need it.  Maybe a run, a walk, or time to simply go on a drive.  Time alone will help you have quiet, which will be difficult to find over the next several weeks. 

This is free and is available in word, docs, excel, & pdf.  Click it and make it personalized!

     Remember, structure is the key, micromanaging is not needed.  Communicate openly with your kids and spouse.  These times are stressful and challenging for all of us, so make sure we march forward with grace and love.  We WILL get through this, and we will learn and grow from this experience. 

BIRTHDAY!! - The Boys are 1!

   Wow, we made it!!!!  I feel like Drake and Bodhi's first birthday party was as much for my wife and I as it was to celebrate them.  I know that is not how it's supposed to be, but we survived the first year of having twin boys, and three kids and under 3!  I'll have a bourbon on the rocks for that!
   My wife did have a great theme for the party, "The Circus," which is very appropriate.

Drake & Bodhi - "The Main Attraction"

Anna - "The Ring Leader"

Sheila & I - "Circus Staff"

     Perfect right?  This is truly how it feels, even though we try and organize it and have routines each day.  We are finally (knock on wood) starting to come out of the fog and sleep through the night regularly.  However, our support network has made this journey amazing!  My parents, in-laws, Grammy, & Bunky, brother's-in-laws, sister, and MANY friends have truly helped us make it through this first crazy year of having three kids under the age of three!  If you are at the beginning of the parenting journey, figure out your support network, it makes all the difference in the world!  I don't know how we would have made it through this year without the support had.
    The other part of parties that I really love is that our friends get to show off their talents.  We try to always use our friends businesses and talents who hiring, or paying, someone for a piece of our party.  Our food, which was burgers and hot-dogs, with chili and all the sides, were from our awesome friend from my wife's Bible study, Kristie.  Kristie is the head chef for a wonderful local deal named Stein's by Addie's.  If you're in Lexington, KY, check them out (have to plug them, right?!).  And our shirts were made by another friend of my wife's.  She is crafty, creative, and loves coming up with cute things like that.  We also had a wonderful friend of our's take some pictures to have memories.  And this friend is a real photographer, not an iPhone photographer 😃.  Your friends have talents, use your friends businesses, but don't use your friends. 
     We aren't guaranteed birthdays with our kids, so cherish and enjoy each one!  It's so easy to get lost in the frustration of making sure the house is clean, buying the right decorations, having the right silly shirts, making sure you have this or that, but we GET to do all of those things for our kids, and with our kids; or whoever's birthday or celebration it may be.  It's all about perspective and attitude.  Our kids see that and watch us.  It doesn't seem like a big deal when they are one year old, but it's hard to change as they get older, and they model what they see.  What kind of example are you setting for your kids?  Enjoy all parts of the celebration, not just while it's going on, or when it's over.  Enjoy life, it's worth living.

Saying "I'm Sorry" - Why is it so hard?

     Punched, kicked, and cussed at, all in one day... all before 2pm!  This was in my classroom at an elementary school, not by my personal kids, thankfully!  BUT, with this happening, I was not in a very positive mood.  My daughter was not listening, I told her to not swing a toy around, she kept doing it and BOOM!  Hit Drake, one of her infant brothers, right in the head.  I snapped at her and yelled really loud, to the point that I scared her, and Bodhi, Drake's twin brother.  Now all three kids are screaming and crying, I'm upset, my wife is upset, and nothing is getting solved.  Instead of worrying about my son in that exact moment, I yelled at my daughter simply because I wasn't aware of where I was emotionally. 
     My wife had Drake, he was okay, the toy that hit him was a little toy car and wasn't really that hard.  It sounded MUCH worse than it actually was.  I told Anna to go to timeout, while I went in the other room and took a breather myself.  I knew me yelling had only made the situation worse, I hadn't solved anything.  I had taken what could have been a teachable moment and turned into chaos. 

     I sat down on the couch and prayed and took several deep breaths, realizing my daughter hadn't listened, and yes, I need to address that, but I also need to address me yelling to the point I scared her.  There is a time and a place for screaming if necessary (i.e. a car is about to run over someone, or something else) but not when a child gets hit with a toy.  I walked over, sat down on the floor with my daughter and said, "Anna, I'm sorry I yelled at you."  I stopped, i didn't go into some big speech of why what she did was wrong, but I stopped and hugged her.  She is two, she just needed to know I love her and that I am not mad at her.  As soon as I told her I was sorry she sat in my lap and let me hug her and she stopped crying.  Then she could listen and we talked about why she was in timeout and how swinging the car wasn't okay. 
     Without me saying I'm sorry, I wouldn't have grown, and it doesn't show her that I know I make mistakes and I will own up to it.  It is hard to do.  I didn't want to do it, but after I did I felt so much better and felt a relief.  It's not always easy for us as men to say we are sorry, but it helps our kids understand that we aren't perfect, and it is great for them to see that.  It is great for them to see us model how to apologize with authenticity. 

Hand Foot and Mouth - ALL 3 KIDS!!!

This past week was awful.  All three kids ended up with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).  Since our twin boys are 11 months right now, and our daughter is 2 and a half, they are in the most common ages to catch this disease, which is five and under.

This is the beginning of Drake's HFM.  

To find out more, check out the Center for Disease Control and Prevention here...

The hardest part of HFMD is that there isn't really any cure, it just has to run it's course, which generally takes 7-10 days total.  For our kids it was about 6 days before the fever was gone and the spots stopped coming up.  Once they stopped coming up, the spots also started scabbing over.  The boys, which are 11 months, were much easier than Anna.  Anna, who is 2.5, was scratching and itching spots, so we were very worried about it continuing to spread.  HFMD spreads through contact with body liquids, but thankfully she scratched it once they had already began to scabbed.  She did make one bleed, but it was already drying up, thankfully!

Once it starts healing, we used Neosporin to help with the healing process.  It made a difference within 24 hours!  No the spots weren't gone, but we could definitely see a drastic improvement on the spots where it was applied versus the spots when we hadn't used it the first day of healing.  The other thing we noticed is how long our 11 month old boys slept while getting over it.  They each took 4 hour naps on back to back days while also sleeping through the night!    We learned a lot, and thankfully, neither Sheila or I contracted it!

Focusing for the New Year - NO RESOLUTIONS! :)

I hate resolutions.  How many of us have tried them and we think, "Ok, for real, this year it's going to work." before?  I know I have.  With a new year, it really is just another day, but I wanted to look at it as a time to reset myself, my stress, and my focus.  I didn't want to set some unrealistic goal, but I did want to find a focus for 2020.
I was given the book "The Energy Busy"  by Jon Gordon through the school where I teach 4th grade last year.  But through following him on social media, I was introduced to another book of his, "One Word The Will Change Your Life" and LOVE IT! Instead of making lofty goals and having big ideas, thinking about one word to focus one each day to better myself and help better my life.  If I do this, I can better my marriage, my time with my kids, my time with my students, my outlook and attitude overall.  My word for 2020 is PURPOSE.  Knowing my purpose will help me evaluate whether what I am doing is important, should be done, or is not worth my time.

Some of my students' words are:

    Confident

Gratitude

Courage

Happiness

Perseverance

The new year will bring many challenges, but also many wonderful memories.  Our kids are watching how we handle every situation.  That is A LOT of pressure.  The process that this book walks through to help you determine what your word is, or what word may find you, is awesome!  It really is a true process, not some silly book that Jon wrote that by the end you just feel good but there was no meat to.  I am excited to focus on my purpose this year, and on my hard days, and my great days, make sure that I am living with purpose.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Busy Dad of 3!   I am Eric and I live in Lexington, KY.  I have three little ones, Anna, Bodhi, and Drake.  Anna is our oldest, Bodhi and Drake are identical twin boys.  We just celebrated our first Christmas together as a family of 5!  It was awesome, but also crazy!  Watching the boys crawl around and open packages and rip bows off was so much fun.  Seeing their eyes open so wide was so much fun!  Anna loved being able to tear open wrapping paper!

I am starting this blog for a few reasons though.  One of which is to share my journey of parenthood.  When the boys were born in Feb. of 2019 we had three kiddos under age 2!  Nuts, I know, right!?! My wife is amazing!  I want other people to be able to learn from my mistakes, share my struggles, my success, and things I've learned. Another reason I want to create this blog is share items that have made our life easier, or items that we have found we thought we needed when we really don't!  SO MUCH STUFF!!!  So if I can help someone else avoid spending money, or save them money on this parenthood journey, I'm all about it!  And the last reason, is so my kids will have a storybook of my thoughts later on in life.  They can look back and see what their dad created.

I hope you'll join me and share your stories, success, ideas, and things you've learned with me too!  I will be posting about each week.  Come along on this journey!