Last Friday, I had the talk with my 9-year-old son Benjamin. It was awkward to start the conversation, it was something I dreaded, but all-in-all, it went over well. He was very receptive, he handled it maturely, he asked some questions and I gave him some straightforward responses. I was impressed with how well he handled it.

It wasn’t that talk, though. It was the talk where I told him we can’t afford tae-kwon-do for him any more. It was a bummer, because he loved it so much. But tae-kwon-do cost us close to $2,000 last year. By comparison, soccer costs $125. This is one of those times that the recession hits home for us, when we can’t do something we want to do. He really loved it, walking around, practicing his kicks, showing off his moves to his little sister. [Read more…]

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend. Mine was crammed from start to finish with plenty of work and family time, but it was a tennis match that I loved the most.

Yesterday, after hosting a barbecue with my parents, my in-laws and my grandparents, I went to a local park with my wife and kids. My oldest son, Benjamin, wanted to play tennis. He’s been wanting to play for a while. We bought some cheap rackets at Target and he’s been dying to get out there.

Tiff played tennis in high school and has wanted to take him to the park to play for a while, but our schedule is pretty tight with Jack’s demands (if you’ve never been here, Jack is my 7-1/2-year-old son who battles severe autism) and it seems that every time we’ve had a chance to go, it’s been raining. [Read more…]

I hope everybody had a great Mother’s Day Weekend! I know my wife Tiffany did, and that’s what matters the most to me. She loves Mother’s Day more than any other day of the year — she calls it her annual review and it means a lot to her because she spends every waking moment taking care of our three kids. Come to think of it, she gets a lot of her sleeping minutes interrupted as Jack wakes up in the middle of the night a good 5 or 6 times a week (if you don’t know who Jack is, click here).

Anyways, I’m not going to bore you with a play-by-play recap of our weekend, but I do have a couple of fun stories to share.

Jack’s Card

I went shopping with my other two kids, Benjamin and Ava, last weekend (April 30). That’s huge for me, eight days in advance. Normally, I’d buy something the day before. If I’m procrastinating, the night before. So this was HUGE! I had Ben and Ava look through the cards at Target and I looked for one from Jack. I found one that was perfect. It said:

For a Special Mom on Mother’s Day

on the front and

You may not hear this often but the the feeling is always there—
Love you, Mom — always have, always will.

on the inside.

[Read more…]