Disconcerting imaginings...

Not sure what to write about today. We're still on holiday and i'm fully into relaxation mode. I've finished reading a book already and have cobbled together four blog posts. It normally happens this way though. I need a few days to properly decompress from the hustle & bustle but when decompression is complete I'm a world class relaxer. And when I'm relaxed, I get stuff done...

I had a disturbing time a couple of nights ago though. 
I had returned to bed after a 2am feed and as I tried to fall back asleep i began to have dark imaginings of my own demise. I was picturing myself suddenly and with no apparent reason falling out of bed and completely unable to breath. My twisted night thoughts even went so far as picturing my better half trying to attend to me in a distressed and panicked manner. 
Despite the traumatic thoughts I must have fallen asleep fairly soon afterwards waking up a good five hours later feeling suitably refreshed. One wonders about tired minds though?! 

(the pic is our Lulu also relaxing in front of the fire...)

Soppy bugger!

Happy anniversary my dear wife...

What a fantastic year it's been! It's hard to imagine that this time last year our baba was a mere 6 month old bump in your ever increasing biodome. Look at her now. Look at us now too. Mom & pop!

This year has shown how lucky a man i am as i not only have the best wife on the planet but it turns out that you're the best mummy on the planet too.

Anyways, i pinch myself all the time to make sure this is not dream.

All my love, forever...

M

Resumption of duties...

Actually it's unfair of me to describe this blog as a duty as I really enjoy adding to it when the opportunities present themselves. 

We're on our holiday at the moment at a lovely little holiday cottage owned by Jill's mum & dad. Our little Lulu was put to bed a couple of hours ago so my better half and I are now relaxing in front of an open fire.
Jill's currently improving her progress on a Professor Layton mystery game and I've just caught up reading of the various blogs that I follow, hence you now find me compiling a new post. I suppose it's testimony to the quality of the blogs that I follow that it immediately makes me want to pick up my nearest digital device (my phone) and get some thoughts down on paper (so to speak). 
One particular blog that I really enjoy is Rude Cactus who's been "blogging from the right side of the dirt since 2003". I began reading his blog late last year, a short while before becoming a dad myself, along with a few other dad bloggers with the hope that I could get some nuggets of fatherly advice or at the very least feel some distant, digital bond to a kindred spirit who was going through or has been through the same stuff as I. The Rude Cactus blog doesn't quite fulfil a function of being an information service about fatherhood. What it does do however is give an entertaining, humorous, warm and often forthright glimpse into one man's journey as a family man and I consider it all the better for it. 

Life is good...

Lulu considers what her hair might look like one day...

I haven't posted here for a while. I've been incredibly busy with all things family related. Add into that the management of two small but ever-growing garden businesses and you can see how I might find it difficult to keep a blog up-to-date and regular.


Anyway, I find myself with a rare few moments to myself just now. I have a bolognese slowly simmering on the stove and my better half is giving Lulu her pre-sleep feed so I wanted to take the opportunity to write a quick note.


Life as a father is wonderful. 


I kinda figured I was going to enjoy it and I was really looking forward to becoming a dad but I never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would give such unfettered joy and whole-world contentedness but it has. I can't quite remember ever feeling quite so composed and relaxed about things. 


Don't misunderstand me though, my life is busy. I mean REALLY busy. Busy in a good way though. My priorities have re-balanced themselves due to the arrival of our daughter. I now try to keep evenings and weekends completely clear in order to do family stuff. Previously whole weekends could have elapsed with me catching up on a backlog of garden designs or quotations or even just billing. 


Not anymore. I endeavour to be much more clever with my time in order to deal with the tasks at hand. I now get up earlier in the mornings to catch up on emails and quotes. I utilise the technology at hand to carry out tasks when I'm out and about. Never underestimate the usefulness of a good smartphone when running a business. As I also build the gardens we design I am out working on site a lot of the time and the ability to be able to send and receive emails, draft letters and reports, access spreadsheets and drawings etc using just a handset is, quite frankly, essential.


The beauty of all this is it frees up more quality time to spend with the ones I love most in the world. So there, life is good....


Michael

Fuel their imagination... (or not)

I was always a firm believer in encouraging and fuelling a kids imagination. I'm beginning to question this belief. Since becoming a dad my own imagination is running amok. When considering things to do with my baby girl I suddenly turn into the screenwriter of Final Destination with even the most mundane and trivial of activities being transformed into the most elaborate, convoluted and spectacular demise of my nearest an dearest.
So, do I want to fuel her imagination? Not if it ends up like mine...
Anyways, speak soon
Michael

When I dress our child...

I can guarantee one thing. You and your child's mum will disagree on what looks good on your kid.
To save you some time and disappointment I would recommend that you don't fight your corner to vehemently. As much as you think you have put together the greatest of ensembles it will eventually dawn on you that you haven't. Bow to mum's superior knowledge and taste. She does know best...
The pic below was my choice of headwear for this afternoon's outing but mother disagreed. The only saving grace is that I can still emblazon the web with my choices thanks to a camera phone, a blog and social networks.
Speak soon
Michael

The family unit...

So as not to give you the impression that I was doing this whole parenting all by myself I though I'd include a wee photo of the whole family (two cats excepted). I'm the handsome male-looking one on the left with the other two beauties, my wife Jill and my ickle daughter Lulu doing a fairly good impression of the hungry caterpillar...
Speak soon.
Michael

Welcome to Daddy Snash

The inaugural post for my new blog probably won't make the most interesting of reads but I'm going to run with it for now and see how it goes.
My thinking behind starting this blog is two-fold; firstly I'm keen on documenting my experiences of fatherhood if only for my own future reference. If, however, the blog strikes a chord with folks out there then that would be a happy bonus.
The second reason for the blog is a bit of a tech experiment as I'm going to try and keep this blog going using primarily my new HTC Sensation handset. I'm not necessarily going to stick to this plan but for now it's quite convenient.
Anyways, I'll leave you now with a photo of me with my biggest achievement, my daughter Lulu.
Speak soon,
Michael