Stay At Home Dad?... We Just Got One!

The Blodgett's are now the pround owners of a "stay at home dad". Not only will he be taking care of our little ones while I go to work, but I also see laundry and bathroom cleaning in his future (let's just keep this between us).

You may be asking yourself, "How did this happen?" Or, "Why aren't YOU staying home?" All good questions. Since this is MY blog and I can do what I want with it, I think I will tell you the non-Reader's Digest answers.

My husband (for the record, I dislike referring to him as that in conversation, I'd rather just call him by his name LUKE and so I will from this point on), was a teaching assistant at Harrison Education Center in Minneapolis Public School system for the past 2 years. He works with Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD) teenagers (tough gig). He took the job on a whim shortly before Colton was born because he wanted a position that he could enjoy and be closer to "home". Surprisingly, Luke loved working in education. He even thought about going back to school to get his license to teach with a focus on special education for EBD students. But, this year brought around some changes for Luke as he started to really think about what it is he wants to do for the rest of his life. A job shouldn't be just a job, you should love your job. Especially since you're going to spend over half of your life working it! So, we started having discussions...

Maybe I should leave the EBD field and try something else?
Maybe I should become a teacher?
Maybe I should finish my current degree?
Maybe I should get a business job?

One day driving home from Wisconsin, he decided to share a new idea with me - "What if I take over my dad's business?"

And so, we made the decision. We're working toward buying Luke's dad out of his company. We moved out of our own home and have moved in with my parents to save more money. Since this type of work is seasonal, we also decided that once Luke's season is up - He is going to stay home and take care of the kids, rather than try to find a second job. With gas prices going up and up and daycare breaking our bank account, this solution seems right.

Definitely more blogs to come about this new development! Can't wait to see Luke as Mr. Mom...

Humble Yourself!

One of the hardest things to do in this life is to always remember that you are no better than the person standing to your right or your left: We are all human, make mistakes, hurt each other and disappoint one another. Personally, this is something I struggle with very hard and tend to beat myself up over because I sincerely try each and every day to be a better person not only for myself, but to be the best I can for my husband and a good example to my children.

Humble Yourself!... Something that is much easier said than done.

Example: There was a woman outside my building this morning wearing "older" clothes, with minimal make-up on and she was smoking a cigarette while her child was playing next to her. I couldn't help it. I judged her. I thought negatively toward her for smoking in front of her child. I thought her outfit was old and out of style. I thought she was dressed in appropriately for being at a "professional" office building. I got all of this out of only seeing her for less than 30 seconds.

The truth is, I don't know this woman. I don't know her circumstances. Maybe she was smoking her 1 cigarette she saves for stressful situations only. Maybe she was stressed because her ex-significant other was supposed to be picking up their child so she could get to work. Maybe she was taking care of this child as a favor to a friend or family member.

Bottom line: I judged without knowing anything except for what was on the outside...

So, if I can get anything out of this, STOP YOURSELF, put yourself in someone else's shoes and say a prayer for them (and for yourself) - Help make the world a better place. Become a better person. Take the higher road. Not necessarily the easiest way, but hey, who said this life was easy? If it were easy to do it right, everyone would do it...