Adventures of a Single Dad

So I'm not really a single dad, but I will get to experience what it will be like over the next few days. Tomorrow morning Breanne is leaving at the butt crack of dawn to go to Chicago for a Pampered Chef conference. She will not return until late Saturday afternoon. That is a whole lot of just daddy and baby time.

I am quite confident in my fatherly capabilities. When it comes to playing with the baby, bath time, putting her to bed, and general prevention of calamities and other physical maladies, I am pretty good. Meal time on the other hand is a different monster entirely. I haven't quite mastered the fine art of being able to cook something that is child appropriate while also making something that I would like to eat as well. All whilst keeping said child entertained and out of everything. The other side of the coin is that she could also be clingy and demand all of my attention, thus preventing me from preparing any sort of culinary genius.

All of this ends with me simply throwing some chicken nuggets in the microwave or scavenging for some sort of leftover that she hasn't already rejected prior in the week. It all leaves me very stressed out!

I got a little taste of this craziness last night. After picking Julia up from the baby sitter I went straight home to prepare dinner. Breanne was out doing a pampered chef party so baby and I were on our own. I decided to quickly boil some water and make her ravioli with a side of carrots. While the water was coming to a boil, I looked outside and noticed that one of our dogs (Safra), had something in our mouth that looked like a small animal. Panic stricken I grab the baby and rushed outside. It turns out that Safra had uncovered a nest of baby bunnies. Thankfully, the one she had gingerly removed from the nest was not harmed. It was still wriggling around on the ground. My mind went completely blank as to what to do next. I have to keep the dogs away from their new found toys. Not let Julia wander around too much as there are "puppy land mines" all over the back yard. Put the bunny back in it's hole without getting my scent all over it so it doesn't die and its mom doesn't totally reject it. And oh wait.... I have a pot of water boiling on the stove. It was madness. After fully assessing the situation, I used a towel to put bunny back in its hole, scurried the dogs back in the house, checked baby's shoes for land mines, and finished dinner all without any needless death or house fires.

Whew!! Moral of the story is that parenting is a two person job and these next few days are certainly going to be interesting. Wish me luck!