hat on sidewaaaayyzzz…

If you are not sure what I am talking about I congratulate you. But if you are curious head on over to youtube and have a listen.

Secondly, now that we are moving and it is final, I can now make the announcement that I will be going through all my old stuff. I mean I am going from attic to basement and putting my paws on everything. If there are things I don’t need or want to give away I will post them here. Some things may be free, some things may have a price. If I end up shipping all kinds of crap I don’t want to pay for everything heading out or I will go broke in a hurry so just so you are aware I am going to add a $5 shipping charge to everything. So I may put something up for a buck, but you will end up paying $6 if you want it to cover the $5 shipping.

Does that make sense?

I have put a shopping cart thing on the blog in the upper right so you can buy stuff. Again, I have no idea what I am going to run into. Let’s put it this way… There are things in this attic I have never seen. They were there before I got married and I moved in to the house and it was all up there. I have no idea. It’s sort of exciting. Of course if I come across something awesome, I’m keeping it. But bear in mind… I am also looking to possibly sell some stuff to make a few bucks. Our initial plan is to go through everything and only keep the things we really need. So if we come across something nice BUT we feel we should unload it and put it up for a nice price to get some extra cash we may.

The new house has plans for a new kitchen. So to make it happen we may sell some things. Other things we’ll probably just toss up to get rid of it.

So start paying attention because it’s gonna get ugly folks. First come first serve. You will know if the product is still available. If it is not there will be a nice big SOLD sign under the product.

-sillydad

This year there should be about 15-16 people up for Thanksgiving. One year I remember we had 22 people. That was probably our largest ever since I have been married. Actually that’s probably for my entire life. I can’t list all the food we will have but we usually do the normal stuff like turkey, squash, potato, beets, etc.

Desserts are always plenty. I can’t ever make it to dessert anyway. My dinner plate fills me up to the gills so dessert is usually at least an hour after. My wife makes an excellent apple cider.

Of course my job is the hardest. I have to test all the food first before serving to the kids. Hey someone has to do it…

-sillydad

It has been a nice addition to our house and has lots of added storage.

-sillydad

Alright folks. I know I have taken some time off from blogging here at Silly Dad. I would like to make time to start blogging again here for several reasons. First off, people are always asking me what’s going on with me and the family. I probably won’t post a lot of personal stuff attributed to the family, but I will continue to post about fatherhood, being a stay at home dad, etc.

Secondly, this blog is part of my Skinny Moose Blog Network. We would like to have more family oriented blogs so if you might be interested you can contact me. Right now there are 3 other blogs that have to do with family/parenting and they are:

• Dad on a Dime which is authored by Tony.
• Tales From a Stay at Home Mom which is authored by Stacie.
• Last but certainly not least, Mike blogs over at Trophy Husband.

I may even post some pictures of my new projects I have been working on.. Oh boy… the excitement.

But a lot of you know I work at home and still do… Here is a good image of me lately.

Last month the family was blessed with another daughter, making it our 6th child in 8 1/2 years.

A lot of people are asking if we will be having more. Honestly I don’t know. I am very happy with 6 kids and I am very content. To a lot of people 6 is a number, but I see them all as individuals who all have a wonderful personality. But for a good laugh.. we aren’t too far from becoming the folks in the following picture.

-sillydad

Check out the Floating Trampoline here

sillydad

I have decided to accept the responsibilities of an 8-year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald’s and think that it’s a 4-star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn’t bother you, because you didn’t know what you didn’t know and you didn’t care. All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simply again.

I don’t want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So….here’s my checkbook and my car keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And, if you want to discuss this further, you’ll have to catch me first cuz’ “Tag!, You’re It!”

Author Unknown

Skinny Moose Media blogger, Jason Hendricks of The Adventurist blog is not only a dad but is an outdoor junky and reporter. With just a recent study proving that American kids are just not getting the outdoor activity they once got, Jason is already set up to become a great and active parent for his children.

For those who like to read my articles should also subscribe to Jason’s blog in attempt to follow what is going on in the outdoor world. Jason likes to cover expeditions to the top of Mt Everest. His interviews with some of the leaders in the industry make for an exciting read, and when people fall short of their goals the blog documents all those aspects as well.

If you want to plan a family adventure contact Jason for some helpful tips and ideas on how to find the best spot. I have chatted with Jason on the phone several times and his knowledge of the outdoor world is extensive and not only is a good reporter but can also give you great ideas on your next trip into the wild.

Do you remember the team who were stuck on Mt Hood not too long ago? Jason was following the events as they unfolded, and in fact was getting some inside information before Fox News reported. This essentially sent thousands of readers to Jason’s blog to get the news first. You can count on him to get to the news quickly and get a sneak peak of what’s happening on the inside.

There are also some exciting things that The Adventurist blog will be covering in the weeks and months ahead. So head over and subscribe to his blog and follow the madness. You will be glad you did.

-sillydad

This weekend, we spent the time with our kids. We drove about 45 minutes to a place called Birdsacre, also known as Stanwod Wildlife Sanctuary. They have birds on display. The owls were a great hit for the kids. But what was the most fun about the place were many trails to hike. All the trails were perfect for the kids and we were able to walk around about 200 acres of preserved land.

To get the mood of the place you can find this quote straight from their website:

“We bring back from the woods what we carry to it – give little and we get little in return…. Nature will have all of your attention or nothing of you. If you think of yourself, or your affronts, you forget to look for the color, you lose the Cecropia’s cocoon, you fail to see the bird or hear the song, and the flowers lose their fragrance…. Intimacy with Nature is acquired slowly.” -CJS

You can learn more about the Sanctuary and the purpose behind it here.

Let’s see what else did we do? Oh, on Sunday we were going to take the kids swimming in the afternoon but first we wanted to do some more walking trails. We are trying to get the kids back into shape for the Summer ahead. Regularly we take the kids up to the Orono Bog Walk, where there is a boardwalk about a mile long you can walk along. There are many things you can see from the boardwalk like wild flowers, animals, etc.

They also have walking/biking trails you can go on aside from the mile long boardwalk. Some people bring horses up onto the trails and some walk their dogs. It is a very popular area as parking is tough to find on the weekends. Lots of trails and plenty of nature to see. Our regular routine is to go to the boardwalk first and then whatever we have time for afterwards we go and do. This time we went straight out onto the trails and walked around the woods for a couple of hours.

It was nice to get out this weekend and into the woods. The smells of the trees and the sounds of birds chirping is always nice, especially when I am normally listening to kids arguing over toys and being fully indulged in the chaotic environment of having 5 kids….

-sillydad