Introduction

I thought I would step back from the poop, pee and swear word stories to introduce myself. Knowing full well, with my blog in its infancy, that my current audience is my mom, wife, sisters, and mother-in-law I will keep the introduction short.

My wife Libby and I met in college and have been happily married for just over five years. A little over two years ago we had our first child, Lucy. In March, we are expecting our second. Parenting has been a life changing experience for both Libby and I. The fact that parenting changes you is obvious. What wasn't so obvious to me was the true depths of the fatigue, frustration and love you feel, the highs of the joys, and the extent to which unconditional love can been extended. (This is probably a good time to sneak in a quick apology for the depth and extent of my sappiness)

During the past two years we have had a variety of day care setups with Lucy. After Lib’s maternity leave, Lucy started out at a day care center. It was a great place and we felt very confident inthe individuals who were taking care of Lucy. During her time there Lucy got sick a lot, and at the end of the day it just didn't feel like the right spot for us.

Our next option was an in home day care. It was our next door neighbor and she has been a nanny before having a daughter of her own. The opportunity to have Lucy get 2 to 1 care right across the street seemed great to both Libby and I. As with the first set up, we were confident in the care Lucy was receiving. Ultimately two forces made us make a change here. The first was that my sister, Aunt Beth, was looking for some summer employment and having Lucy spend three months with family was very appealing. While this may sound sort sited (changing providers with only a three month plan in place) Lib and I were both getting the sense a bigger more permanent change was on the horizon. The second force was simply put we had a different parenting philosophy then our neighbor. Again she was a great individual, and probably a great parent, we just had differences.

As we moved forward with Aunt Beth for the summer, which by the way was a great bonding experience for both Lucy and Beth, we needed to get something figured out for the fall and beyond. After much discussion, and really a deep feeling between Libby and I that one of being with the kids was our ultimate preference, I resigned from my medical sales position at the end of August 2009. Let the journey begin…

Before I conclude with what I am sure to you the reader is a much more detailed account than you would like, I want to say a couple of things about day care set ups. First, because me staying at home is what works for us I am in no way saying this is what everyone should do. There are tons of great options out there, and my hope to all parents is that they find a form of care that works for them and their children/child. Secondly, I will likely share a lot of stories on this blog about the odd or bad days, but make no mistake I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to stay at home.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I am not only excited to share some of my stories, but to build a sense of community through reading others blogs. I look forward to hearing and learning from all of you about all things parenting and beyond.