Father's of the 2000

I think we women in the 2000’s are pretty lucky. I’ve been noticing men carrying babies in Snuggli’s and Baby Bjorns more and more over the past couple of years. Today, at the park, I noticed that almost all the kids were being led around or carried by their fathers. Now granted it is a Saturday but if we had our kids 30 years ago, we would raise our kids with little help from our husbands. I don’t think my father ever changed a diaper. Sure they played with us every now and then but mostly our moms took care of us. Brian is typically the one who changes the kids’ diapers when we go out. He doesn’t seem to mind and I know the kids hate the changing tables so I let him do it. How awesome is that?

Another thing I noticed is that my view on cooking is changing. Previously, I have pretty much avoided it completely, even though I have had two husbands (both are excellent cooks and therefore cooking skills are not necessary). But then kids came along and it made sense for me to be able to produce a meal every now and then. I still cook pretty basic things like meatloaf and spaghetti but the thing that has changed is that I like having a meal on the table for my family. I like the feeling that I am “taking care” of my boys (including Brian). Perhaps I am finally becoming domesticated after all these years.

I managed to take my class without too much stress about when and where to pump. It started at 9 AM so I was able to do the first pumping at home and we got a big enough break for lunch that I was able to come home and do it. And we got out a little early so that worked out. This class was grueling. It was about this really complicated software that we run our supply chain on. I’ve never really been someone who learns by sitting a class and even though we were practicing on the system, it was still difficult to pay attention.

Thursday night I sucked it up and went to a Project Management Institute meeting. See, I took that test to become a Project Management Professional and I got certified. To maintain my certification, I have to earn 60 PDU’s. These are units of stuff like attending presentations and training that indicate that I am staying current with the latest and greatest project management techniques. I have a Computer Science degree and worked as a programmer for years and then other various functions around software and hardware for years after that so I am very used to being around a lot of geeks. But what I didn’t realize is that there are not only computer geeks, there are Project Management geeks. These are people who are oddly excited about project management and eagerly share their views and opinions on the subject in a large room with a bunch of other people like them. AND OTHER PEOPLE SEEM TO BE INTERESTED. Now I think project management is pretty cool and definitely useful but I really don’t like going somewhere after working all day and talking about it some more. After listening to the speaker talk about trust and requirements and then hearing various people in the audience give their little tips and tricks from their workplace, I really couldn’t get out of there fast enough, even though I was supposed to “network”. I really hate that word. And I only got 1 PDU for this. I can’t do this 60 more times. I don’t think I can do it 1 more time.

Friday we went to eat at Z’Tejas where we like to order a bunch of their ½ price appetizers. Unfortunately they no longer have my favorite appetizer “crab cakes”. Saturday was a very busy day. We went to Connor’s birthday party at the train park where Jack and the other kids got to ride a train several times and ride a carousel. They had a great playground too. Brian, Jack and Ty took naps when we got home and I went down to the greenbelt to attend a Homeowner’s Association meeting. We had it outside and they had snacks and a big bouncy thing for the kids so there was a big attendance and we got to talk about the hoodlums in the neighborhood. I’m going to join a neighborhood watch group. We met a lot of people with 2 year old boys and also met a new potential baby-sitter. We ended up staying for 3 hours! This kind of day wears out the kids quite nicely which means they sleep really well. And that is where they are right now. Well, I think I’m going to catch up on some TV now.