(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Vote for Liam

Please vote for my little guy in the "Battle of the Babies"! http://hot995.clearcontests.com/front/image_contest2.asp?s=A6889271C4BCB3A3557BA5BEA5B19D84939EB49BB6B4678DD1CF8B998EAFA6BDBD777CA6CCC6C2BCA1897D615F7C758F8F50BEAA97756A787993C2AD9171786175ADBE788389646C7469957D7A84A487A28A7658

Thank you! :-)

Mr. Mom

Wordless Wednesday - My new bumper sticker

Mr. Mom :-)

"Post Pregnancy" weight loss challenge - Update -

OK, I'm back and still trying to lose the weight. Thanksgiving and Christmas + the time in between was a big set back. Caught a cold, or 2 on top of that and I was out of my game. :-(

We signed up for LA Fitness and they opened up a brand new gym 4 weeks ago. It is about 7 miles away from our house and I've been at least 3 times a week since they've opened. I adjusted my diet a little bit since the beginning of the year and I haven't had any fast food, sodas, or beer, (16 days and counting). I'm trying to cut back on the bread (I love bread! Especially with Nutella... Mmmmh) as well and I've lost 10lbs in the last 4 weeks! So the 10lbs I lost by the beginning of November, I found and put back on again by the end of last year. That puts me back to the level I was on 2.5 month ago.

I want to lose at least lose 5 more till the end of this month. Let's see how that goes...

This was my best workout yet. 1 hour on the treadmill and burned a little bit over 1000 Calories! Was a little sore after this...

Wish me Luck! ;-)

Mr. Mom

Hope these diapers do their job.3GP

Upcoming Christmas Markets

Please mark your calendar for these upcoming Christmas Markets. We will be joining 2 and organizing 1 ourselves this year. Very exciting.

German Christkindlmarket

December 2. from 4pm to 9pm at the German Military in Reston, The Campus at Sunrise - German Christkindlmarket
A traditional outdoor Christmas Market for family and friends with arts and crafts, German food & beverages, puppet shows and childcare
German Military in Reston, The Campus at Sunrise
11150 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA

Lovettsville Christkindlmarkt 2010

December 4 & 5 from 11am to 6pm at the Lovettsville Game Protective Association - Lovettsville Christkindlmarkt 2010
An authentic German Holiday Market. Unique finds from juried crafters, live German/Austrian music, German Christmas delicacies, Christmas trees and greenery, children activities and more...
Lovettsville Game Protective Association
16 Berlin Turnpike
Lovettsville, VA

Christmas Market 2010

December 11, 12 & 18 from 11am to 5pm at Hunters Run Wine Barn in Hamilton - Christmas Market 2010
Hunters Run Wine Barn and Mr. Mom from Made-In-Germany-Company team up for a unique Christmas Market in Hamilton, VA.
Join us for an excellent Christmas shopping experience. Handcrafted and unique gifts from Europe and the US paired with award winning Hunters Run and Corcoran Wines and warm mulled wine.
Don't miss out on this holiday event. Bring your friends and family.

Hunters Run Wine Barn
40325 Charles Town Pike
Hamilton, VA


We still have a few Vendor spots open for this event. Please contact me if you are interested.

Hope to see you there!

Mr. Mom :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Halloween -

Pictures provided by "Daniel Stiles Photography" http://www.danielstiles.com/ Thank you!

Mr. Mom :-)

"Post Pregnancy" weight loss challenge - Update -

First month behind me and 11 Lbs down! My minimum goal was to lose 10 Lbs and I got that, plus a little more... Yeah me!
I had my ups and downs the last weeks, but I'm glad that I'm still on track and I'm feeling great!
My wonderful wife and I signed up for the gym as well and it's great to have her on my side to achieve my goal!
The pants are getting a little more loose and I can't wait to fit back in those older pairs.
11 down, 19 more to go till the end of the year. Let's see how Thanksgiving will work out...
Bring on the rest of the year! I think I'm ready and I'm in it to win it!

Who is still with me? ;-)

Mr. Mom

Wordless Wednesday - First Haircut

Mr. Mom :-)

This weekend - Don't miss out

This and more will be available for purchase this Saturday and Sunday at Hunters Run Wine Barn http://www.huntersrunwinebarn.com - a portion of the proceeds from this and more items goes to breast cancer research! There will be other great stuff going on too, so come on out and join the fun! Hope to see you there... :-)

Mr. Mom :-)

"Post Pregnancy" weight loss challenge - Update -

OK, 2 1/2 weeks into the challenge and I lost 8 pounds so far. I exercised more the first week, than the second, but I think chasing the little guy should count at least a little bit. I'm eating less junk food and cutting out sodas and beer worked pretty good so far. Went on a 4 mile bike ride this afternoon and I'm feeling great. I don't feel a difference in my cloth yet, but I can't wait till it does...
I hope I can keep it up and lose the 30 pounds I would like to get rid of by the end of this year. 8 down, 22 more to go...

Mr. Mom :-)

Loudoun County Farm Color Tour 2010

We will be at Hunters Run Wine Barn http://www.huntersrunwinebarn.com/ this weekend for the Loudoun County Farm Color Tour. Mr. Mom will have a stand with lots of organic and wooden toys from Germany. Great wines to round it all up and a lemonade cart with proceeds going to Susan G Komen foundation. Don't miss out on the fun... http://www.loudounfarms.org/

See you there!

Mr. Mom :-)

Wordless Wednesday / First weeks on the bus

Mr. Mom :-)

"Post Pregnancy" weight loss challenge

Here we go again: trying to lose weight... I have about 40 Lbs I want to get rid of in the coming month. My goal is to lose the first 30 Lbs till the end of the year and the last 10 Lbs by the end of next February. I started last week, with going running and trying to eat better. Cut out sodas and beer (That's a tricky one), less fast food and drinking lots of water. Let's see how it goes.
Wish me luck...

Mr. Mom

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! :-)

Pictures provided by Daniel Stiles Photography! http://www.danielstiles.com/ Thank you!

Mr. Mom :-)

Wordless Wednesday / My little man

Mr. Mom :-)

Back to school! Yeah!

Back to school! Finally! This is the beginning of a whole new chapter in our family life....

I'm a stay at home Dad and I'm damn proud of it but, like many families, surviving on one income is difficult. I did some research back in April for a job, where I could take our son to work with me and I actually found it! I applied to become a school bus driver for our county and I got accepted to take the class in May. You read correctly: You have to take serious classes to become a school bus driver.

First you have to go through an in depth process composed of background checks, fingerprints, interviews, references etc. They really make sure they know that person who gets close to our kids!

Once you've passed the checks, you get a notice that you made it into the upcoming class. 5 days a week with a packed schedule. Thankfully, my wife was able to take leave most of the days I was in class so she could watch the little man.

We went through CPR, First Aid, Bloodborne Pathogens, Drug and Alcohol Training, Orientation, Policy and Regulations, Roles and Responsibilities, Route Reading, Student Management, Severe Allergies/Other Health Emergencies, Special Education, Glucagon Administration, Special Needs Training, Hazmat Instruction, Maintenance and Pre/Post Trip Inspections, Instructions on the different Bus types, Crashes and Emergencies, Loading and Unloading Passengers, Driving Fundamentals, Driving under Special Conditions, Defensive Driving and much more. All packed in 2 busy weeks! All this combined with studying after class at home plus studying for the big written test at the DMV for the Commercial Drivers License (CDL), proved to be difficult at times, but as a family we managed to get through!
Don't tell me you knew school bus drivers had to go through so much training, because I had no idea in the beginning!

After passing the classroom exams, for the next two weeks, we hit the road for a lot of driving and more driving. We experienced different buses, different routes, stopping and loading/unloading procedures, getting to know all the different parts of the buses for the pre/post trip inspections, we have to do every day. Up to the day where I had to take the DMV driving test. After I passed the test I had to drive "loaded runs" with my trainer for 3 days. He released me after these 3 days and wrote in his report, "Probably one of the best trainees he ever had." Did I mention my trainer has been a bus driver for 10 years!? I, of course, was really proud because I always give 110% in whatever I do. I really love this job. I should've done this a long time ago!

Before you can get contracted you have to be a substitute driver for at least 15 days. I had exactly 17 days till the summer break. I drove all 17 days, all different routes and different schools. From Elementary to High School and Special Needs. I had some tricky runs and also some easy ones and I can't wait to see what the next school year has in store for me. I have not received a route yet, which means I will start as a substitute driver again next.

I really hope that I will get a Special Needs Route. Not everybody is cut out for that, but it feels right for me somehow. Becoming a parent changes things and I want to be there for these kids and their parents.

I love to work with kids and to make a difference in their lives.

What's going to work? Team Work! ;-)

But with any job, there's always something that annoys you. Here's where I start to vent. You won't believe how many cars fly by my flashing red lights/stop sign on the school buses! It's unbelievable! It's so damn dangerous and they juggle with our kids lives! As a school bus driver you have to oversee all sides of the bus, walkways, and streets to make sure all of the kids get on and off the bus safely. Why would you put these children in danger? Just because you are running late? Come on! The school buses usually drive the same route, at the same time every day. Why don't they just leave a little earlier if they don't have the patience for the kids? If you drive drunk, you will go to jail for at least 12 hours and I think they should treat the passing of a school bus while loading and unloading students the same way! Go straight to jail and not to work, when you put our kids in danger. It really makes me angry... end of vent.

My little man loves to ride the bus with Daddy, who is very proud to be a School Bus Driver!

Please make sure you will give your school bus driver the respect he/she deserves for making sure your kids get to and from school safely!

I can't wait to get on the bus next Tuesday for the new school year and making a difference! And I'm very happy to earn some money for our family with a job, I'm totally passionate about!

Happy school year everybody!

Mr. Mom(Any misspelled words you may find, are yours to keep) ;-)

First Guest Blog Post EVER

Today is the day!

My first ever guest blog post is out. Over at one of my favorite Mommy Bloggers - Breedwoman

Please check it out at: http://breedloving.blogspot.com/2010/09/guest-blogger-thursday-mr-mom.html and leave some comment love. :-)

Make sure to follow her on Twitter too: http://twitter.com/Breedwoman

Enjoy the post... :-)

Mr. Mom

Wordless Wednesday

Too cool to hold his own sippy cup...
My little man...

Mr. Mom :-)

Childhood Memories Part 2

In 1982 I was in the German "Sesame Street" as a stand in. It was a lot of fun and it's one of my favorite memories. Never made it big afterwards and I still had to continue to go to school... ;-)

The story was that "Samson" the big bear should get new shoes at the market. I had to walk around as a visitor of the market. I'm the one in the left corner with the way to big red sweater. I couldn't wear my own cloth just because of color problems with the cameras.

I'm really thankful that my little sister could get her hands on these pictures from 1982!

Great Memories!

Mr. Mom
(Any misspelled words you may find, are yours to keep) ;-)

Childhood Memories

My wife asks me every once in a while about my childhood memories and most of the time I don't have any memories. She wanted to know which parent I would go to when I was hurt for example and I can't find an answer. It's just blank in my head and it feels really weird. Alzheimer's maybe? I have no idea!

I had a great childhood! I know that for sure. Loving family and a great neighborhood with lots of friends... I spend a lot of time playing outside and I know that I would like my kids to grow up the same way.

But not many other memories are left about kindergarten, first years of school, birthdays, vacations etc. I would like to know if I need to get that checked out, or if anybody else out there has the same thing going on!?

There are a few things I remember 100%,

In 1985, back in the days without cellphones, my Dad didn't come home from work at his usual time. My mom, my sister and I were sitting at home, all worried and had no idea what was going on. Trying to reach him at work, but there was no answer at all... What happened???

After hours of waiting my Dad came home and was fine. Here is what took place:

2 fighter jets from the German Army collided in the air - one went in a river and one fell on to the building my Dad worked in.

He was in Container sales and his office was on the bottom floor behind the 3rd and 4th opening from the right. (shown in picture below). He and his co workers only survived due to the containers to the right which caught the first fire wall. This gave them enough time to get out...

The German Army cleaning up after the big crash. Airplane engine on the truck, you can also see them hoisting landing gear.

The day after the building burned out completely. One co worker (a mechanic) didn't make it...

I'm really grateful that my Dad came home that night!

And even so it seems that I don't remember much form my early years, I know that my parents and I had and still have a loving bond. My Dad will be turning 70 next year and I'm glad the containers were right there to keep him in our lives.

Thank you!

Mr. Mom