ShatterandShape

Lost… Now Found!

Been a busy past few months for me and can’t wait to update you all on the good and the bad. From turning 30 (yay….) to recently breaking up and moving out a LOT has happened.

I appreciate the support you all have given me thus far!

Hope everyone was able to have a fun-filled Easter weekend!

Facing Life’s Challenges…

When I’m feeling down I either find a big hill, with a hard path or I go to the gym and hop on the stair master.

Starting out is the hardest and most overwhelming part for me. Thoughts of self-doubt pop up, questioning whether I can make it top or if I chose to hard of a difficulty etc. I turn up my music and block out these thoughts, putting my head down and moving forward towards the goal I set…

Birthdays to Anniversaries and Oh… Thanksgiving!

This past week was insane! First, it came with all the planning and ensuring that the days would run smoothly and then just enjoying the days as they came. Natalia turned three… THREE! Watching her this past year grow and develop in so many areas has been great. On top of going to two different Thanksgivings, the girlfriend and I celebrated our first anniversary as well!

Natalia had a PJ Mask…

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Do you moan and groan about going to work? Think about your life and how it’s everything it isn’t you want it to be? How many excuses do you make before you walk in the door at work?

In one of my earlier blog posts, “Top 3 Things Holding You Back” I talked about how YOUwere your own worst enemy and the biggest thing that held you…

A Big Kid Bed!!!

Do you remember the time when your parents promoted you into a “big” kid bed?

  Frankly, I don’t, my only memories of that event are going from a bed frame that is now used in my Dad’s guest room to a bunk bed. I remember being excited when my parents took me to the furniture store, it had a small detachable ladder off to the side and two large sliding drawers underneath the bed. I think it will…

The Mysterious Noise…

So, the other night I headed off to bed, while the girlfriend was working on one of her projects in the garage. Very typical winding down night for us. A few hours later I wake up to my girlfriend telling me to, “Get up!” Mind you it was 3:36 am in the morning and I had just awoken from a dead sleep. Trying to lay still and not say anything and “act” as if I were still asleep…. Which didn’t last…

Update#2 on Dad Bod Journey

Goal: 210lbs

Start: 227lbs

Current: 219.6lbs

Loss: 7.4lbs

Elapsed Time:  17 Days

Timeframe: 10/23/18-1/30/18

Thank GOD, Halloween is over, a.k.a it is 100x easier to not consume any candy or even be tempted by it. That has made a huge impact overall in the dieting process. I feel like some days I get tons of sleep, while others not so much. As of late, Natalia has been waking up at the same time…

My girlfriend recently started getting into the whole concept of Mary Kay. If you haven’t heard of it, it is one of those MLM companies that if you work hard etc. dividends are headed your way. I was skeptical of this venture of hers but supported her fully and motivated her along the way. Now, you must be thinking “Oh GOD,” another one of these MLM company schemes etc. Honestly, I would say Mary…

Am I a failure?

  This has been a question that has been pre-occupied my mind as of late. No matter what it seems I try to do to become a better parent, person etc. It has been met with hardships. Some good, some bad, but overall it I am always feeling that it isn’t good enough or I need to try better, harder.

On the flip side, I also think about, that maybe I am trying too hard and therefore is…

I slowly opened the door from the garage that led inside, just waiting for Puppy to rush me and start barking at me… I think it took her a second to realize someone was in the kitchen and she had no idea who it was. She started doing her, ‘Mom someone is here’ type bark and ran over towards me. Luckily, I was able to beat her around the corner and instantly saw Natalia and my girlfriend and went “RAWR!!!”

The second Natalia laid eyes on me she FREAKED!! Considering this is after she was very insistent on us being werewolves for Halloween, while she would be Catboy (from PJMasks). My girlfriend went “EEEK” and I see Natalia SPRINT for dear life towards one of our couches. She climbed up so fast it almost was like she jumped up on the cushion, where she stood there shocked and frightened by my appearance. During this though, our Puppy…. Went into attack mode and if I didn’t take the mask off soon she WAS going to attack me to protect everyone else. Natalia kept saying, “Mommy Werewolf,” as my girlfriend and I started howling like werewolves.

My girlfriend thought I had scared Natalia so bad that she asked her if she had peed herself cause THAT’S how frightened she was at first. Natalia soon realized it was just me, boring old Dad, underneath the mask and calmed down, as did the Puppy. However, throughout the REST of the night, Natalia REFUSED to even look, touch or be near the werewolf gloves and mask. Even after repetitively explaining to her it was all fake and that we would never let anything hurt her.

We ended up going around our neighborhood for trick or treating, keeping it somewhat simple for her first outing. At first either Mom or Dad, needed to be right next to her and guide her through the whole “process” of trick or treating.  Natalia would walk up, ring the doorbell, knock the door 2x (always 2x for some reason) and proceeded to say, “Trick or Treat!”

The next part, aka the BEST part, of trick or treating, was getting the candy!! This is where things were hilarious because Natalia would NEVER settle for just ONE piece of candy. I mean yea… she sometimes would place them in her bucket one by one and sometimes she would start to walk away before turning back to get more candy. We couldn’t help but laugh and smile. Towards halfway/the end, Natalia got to a point where she would do the WHOLE process by herself and even say, “Thank You” at the end. We were so proud of her…. Until she wanted to stop AT every single house and wouldn’t let either of us carry her now filled candy bucket. Which was dragging now on the ground as we walked from house to house because she was so tired, but insistent that she could handle it.

Was a fun, family-filled evening and I am sure we will have many like these to come in future Halloweens. Side Note: I don’t think ANYONE handed out King Size candy bars… everyone just had these small miniature sized pieces of candy. OH how the times have changed!

Update on Dad Bod Journey

  Goal: 210lbs

Start: 227lbs

Current: 223lbs

Loss: 4lbs

Elapsed Time:  8 Days

Timeframe: 10/23/18-1/30/18

So far, I am on track and probably would be further along if it weren’t for all the Halloween candy I can’t seem to hide from. Especially those 100 Grand bars! I like how I have set up my diet so far, the hardest part of it has been dinner. Since I am literally only eating meat and veggies…

I didn’t really consider the difficulty of this design I chose, Venom, until I was a few hours in and hadn’t really made any headway…. And was like, “FML this is going to take forever!!!!!!” Finally, though, I finished it and put a nifty light I found at Fred Meyer, let me know what you all think.

I can’t even remember the last time I carved pumpkins so I am pretty stoked on how it turned out.

The Case of the Permanent Marker

So, after last night’s events aka The Dance Party… We ended up doing some pumpkin carving until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer… We put away all the carving tools to prevent curious hands from causing any harm or mischief and went to bed…

This was going to be the first morning in all week of not having to be up early for the gym or any meetings and BOY was I looking forward to sleeping…

Even though she had gone already to the pumpkin patch with us, it was great for her to be able to go somewhere with her class and have an adventure on her own. Fortunately for us, her teachers took some great pictures of her during the field trip.

Before you start reading this, erase any notion that you may or may not have about the roles of ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’ in a household when it comes to your kid’s development.

    Blank Slate?

      I am sure there are numerous studies out there, but I came across one that was performed by Michigan State University, regarding the impact a Father has on a child’s early development. Honestly, I was…

When it comes to puppies… Natalia is like a laser-guided missile… she locks on the second she sees one and shouts “PUPPY!!!” Even the big ones… This is hilarious because when she sees a smaller breed of dog she associates the size of the dog with it being a ‘baby’ puppy.

Due to this, we have been working on teaching Natalia that she needs to ask the owner for permission first before anything else. Every now and then she will ask, and most dog owners are ecstatic to see the enjoyment they see as she is petting their dog.

The bond between Natalia’s own dog, Puppy (yes, our dog’s name is Puppy), compared to other dogs has changed greatly over the past year. When I first met Natalia, she wanted NOTHING to do with Puppy, like, I can’t really remember her wanting to interact or play with the dog at all. It’s not the Puppy’s fault either, but I really believe she doesn’t realize half the time how big she is now and still assumes’ she can fit in my girlfriends’ lap…

Watching their relationship change and grow has been great! Just the other day she was reading a book to Puppy while sharing her blanket. It is hilarious to watch Natalia try to give commands to Puppy, like Sit, No or Off…. Which is typically Natalia using a very LOUD voice, which Puppy promptly ignores and just happily does what she wants instead.

Anytime I pick Natalia up at school she is eager to see Mom and Puppy and is constantly wanting to know where both are and what they are doing. Mom a little more so than Puppy… But Dad isn’t even mentioned!! /tear I believe wholeheartedly that over time their relationship will continue to grow until they are inseparable.

Pets are a great thing for kids, it gives them a distraction or a buddy to play with… That will eventually turn into them taking over some of the chores (Water, Food, Exercise) and teaching them to be responsible for something else other than themselves.

They are also able to develop a unique relationship with your child, albeit a non-verbal one, your child can communicate via their feelings or emotions… Which I must say animals are excellent at picking up on feelings and emotions and responding to them in kind. This gives the child a sense of emotional stability that can allow them to overcome critical moments they may be dealing with. Animals are great at offering us unconditional support because they have no prejudices…All they just want is to love on you.

Like anything though, Pets will pass away at one point or another. In a way, Pets can bridge the gap of what ‘death’ or ‘birth’ signify when we try to convey those concepts to our kids. When a pet passes away, it is followed by a great time of pain for all parties involved, BUT it also can be a very important learning experience for children. They can see how us, parents, handle the bereavement process and learn from it for a time when they will have to deal with the delicate of issue of death.

Pets are amazing, I think every family should have one, assuming you understand the ALL responsibilities that come with owning one. Pets AREN’T things, toys, they are like your kids and need constant love, care, and protection. Treasure the relationship that comes with owning a pet and it will serve you and your kids well in life.