Beautifullyesotericlife: Hacked by her husband! :)

Disclaimer: This post is written by Bryan, Kendahl's husband. She has no idea I've hacked into her blog. We'll see how long it takes her to figure it out! If you've gotten this far, definitely read to the end. I don't write like Kendahl, but the end makes it worth it. Yes, it does get a little sappy. If it helps, just make fun of me after you read it. :)

Kendahl is out of town for a few days at the Influence Conference. It's a really great opportunity for her (which I'm sure she'll share all about when she gets home)! Meanwhile, I'm at home with our son Ellis. Yup, I'm a stay at home dad for a few days. Some might even call me a single dad. That's not terribly accurate though because Kendahl is very much present in spirit and in FaceTime. :)

So why have I hacked her blog? Well, I want to share all about my experience being a stay at home dad for 4 days. Something to keep in mind--it's only been 2 days. After the last two days, though, I don't need much more material for this post. Hang tight and you'll see why.

Day 1

Kendahl pulled out of the driveway around 8:15am. By 8:20am I was digging a quarter out of Ellis' mouth. Did he eat any more change? Time will tell. He seems fine.

I had a staff meeting at 9. So we loaded up the car and headed over to Western Oaks. When you bring a toddler to work, staff meeting happens in the play room! We didn't accomplish much. :)

Afterwards we headed out to run errands. A quick stop by the hardware and hobby stores and we were ready to go work on a project to surprise Kendahl with! Nearly every time she leaves town I try to do a fun project for her. This is the first project I've tried to tackle while juggling the schedule of a toddler. Here's to hoping I finish! (I'm not going to spill the beans on what I'm doing-just in case she reads this before she gets home)!

Lunchtime! In other words, throw food at the dog.

Dance on the coffee table, jump on the couch, try to break the baby gate down.

Yea, it's nap time. Thank the Lord he napped for 3.5 hours! Meanwhile, I began to clean like a madman. Did I mention that we listed our house for sale the day that Kendahl left for Influence? Within 12 hours we had a showing--yikes! Basement and main floor while E naps and the upstairs after he goes to bed.

Nana and Grandpa came over right at the end of naptime so I could mow the lawn for the showing. A quick 20 minute visit and they were gone!

Melt. Down. City.

Time for dinner. But I just cleaned the kitchen. I guess we should go out!

This guy ate an ENTIRE adult sized bowl of Mac & Cheese with chicken at Noodles. All the while, flirting with the girl sitting behind me. (Just to clarify, Ellis was flirting, not me!)

Ran a few more errands for our surprise before we headed home to play outside.

And then began our nighttime routine.

Breathing treatment, bath, run around the living room naked, pee on the floor, get pajamas on, dance on the coffee table, build towers, read stories, brush teeth, read more stories, say our prayers, and lights out!

Then I cleaned some more and some more and some more. Then Kendahl called and had me do a photo project for her--but I lost my patience! (Sorry, dear!). But hey, the photos are finished and ready to go. Ready set clean some more.

Day 2

I had to beat Ellis up so I could vacuum, mop and the like. Thankfully, he's been sleeping until 7:30 or so. So I woke up and started cleaning some more (It may seem like our house is a pit of filthy despair with all the cleaning I've talked about. It's not. I'm just anal).

Ellis woke up around 7:45, watched cartoons while I finished up cleaning, and then we headed out while a Realtor came through our home.

Every week on my day off Ellis and I go to Scheels to see the fish, press elevator buttons, and learn new animal sounds.

Here's Ellis growling like "scary bear" behind him. :)

Finally, a quick stop to buy some flowers for my mother in laws birthday and we head home for a lunch and nap.

Which brings us to right now.

2 days left before Kendahl gets home. It feels like an eternity though. Yes, I'm having an absolute blast as I get to spend every waking moment (literally) with my son--but this is exhausting!

If you read the disclaimer, this is the "end" I spoke of So, if you simply scrolled down--STOP SCROLLING HERE.

Sometimes (most of the time) I take what Kendahl does for granted. We made the decision for her to stay at home with our kids and we wouldn't change it for the world. Honestly though, I never knew it was this hard. Holy cow--staying at home with a toddler is 24/7 accidental suicide prevention!

Here are some things I (re)learned in the last 36 hours:

Stay at home moms (or dads) should be paid--lots and lots of money.
This is selfless work.
Raising kids is the most important thing--ever.
Kendahl needs a really big budget line that she can spend on whatever she wants in order for our kids to have a great day and for her to stay sane. (No, I'm not endorsing spending money just to make it to the end of the day. Rather--this is money to go to the zoo, out to lunch, for a coffee, to help make memories).
I'm tired.
Cleaning the house during the day is dumb. Let it rain messiness.
There aren't enough hours in the day.
Kendahl has the best job ever.