Inner Monologue

March 1, 2012July 18, 2018 Matt Dad Stuff, Inner Monologue, The Domestic Specialist

THE BABYSITTER?

I know our arrangement at home isn’t considered “typical” in most situations. Mom goes to work and dad stays home. It’s nothing that’s unheard of, but it’s not very common either. I accept that. I accept the comments from strangers at the grocery store when they assume I’m “giving mommy a break.” My inexperience and insecurities really ate at me and made me feel alone and isolated early on, but after some time, and with some gained confidence, it doesn’t really bother me too much anymore. I have a good network of people around me that have been nothing but supportive of what I do and how I do it. And because of that, I feel a lot of my insecurities about how my role is being perceived by the public are mostly in my head than they are actually true.

But recently I learned that the U.S. Census Bureau counts fathers as a form of child care for mothers. Huh? I’m just a babysitter?

Continue reading “THE BABYSITTER?” →

January 27, 2012April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Food, Inner Monologue

THE NO SWEETS CHALLENGE

I was talking to a friend recently about my rewards based eating system. Staying home with Ellie all day proves to be pretty challenging at times. And to be standing on two feet at the end of the day, I think is worth having a “reward.” You know, a cookie, or two, or three. Or a bowl of ice cream, a donut, a candy bar, half a jar of peanut butter, or a box of snack cakes. Anything that has sugar in it. And as you may have guessed, my “reward” based eating turned into emotional eating (yes, I said emotional eating. It’s a real thing.) which then got out of hand, again.

Continue reading “THE NO SWEETS CHALLENGE” →

January 23, 2012April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Dad Stuff, Family, Inner Monologue

YEAR TWO: LET’S CELEBRATE!

We made it through another year. Another milestone. Ellie is two years old today. Whoa, I now have a two year old. When I look at her, it just seems like the next step and it’s not a big deal. But when I say it out loud, “two year old,” it sounds momentous. It has so much weight to it. Two year old. That’s major.

Continue reading “YEAR TWO: LET’S CELEBRATE!” →

January 1, 2012April 5, 2017 Matt Dad Stuff, Holidays, Inner Monologue, New Years

REFLECTIONS

This time last year, we made the decision that I would no longer be an unemployed dad, but officially be a stay-at-home dad. And here I am a year later, still happy we made that decision. It started out slow and cold with a winter that felt like it would never end, but it ended up being a really good year with a lot of growth, both physical and emotional. It didn’t seem like it in the moment, but looking back, a lot happened. From the insignificant, to the noteworthy, to the unexpected (good and bad), it all piled up to be quite the year.