How long do I have?

[Flexin]

I was singing and dancing with my 2 year old daughter tonight. Then we were sitting back chillin listening to my mp3 player. We had a great time. She was up past bed time hanging with daddy. But it made me sad. One day she might she might be too busy, too old or what ever to hang with daddy. :( How much time do I have?

I love my kids.

James

[derf]

Dude youre screwed then.

My 8 year old and I still have moments, but they are far and few between. My son on the other hand adores me, but even so I still can see his eye wander from time to time.

The cool thing about my daughter is now that shes growing up we get to do cool shit together. I took her drifting in the snow the other day, and even let her (gasp!) drive a little from my lap. When it gets warm out she will be on the back of my bike once in a while. I started taking her riding 2 years ago, just going up and down the street or in a parking lot, going very slow, last summer I was brining her to the store or the movies once in a while, never really faster than 35 mph or longer than 10 miles round trip, this year shes gonna come on a long ride with me, like up to my inlaws house, whihc is about 30 miles away.

[Flexin]

I want to take them both swimming soon. I also want to take them ice skating. I'll hold off a bit on the skiing but I can't wait to do that with them too.

Right now my son loves to run across two room, jump through the air and punch me in the stomach. Then run back and do it again. LOL.

Ring around the rosie is fun with the kids. :lol: Sienna will get me to do it till I'm dizzy.

James

[derf]

I took my daughter snowboarding last year. she sucked, but she got a lesson and did alright. But again she sucked and had it not been for her having a blast it would have been a shitty day, but she made it cool when she had fun.

[Smittie61984]

My buddy has a 7 and a 9 year old daughter. They are extremely close to their father. But he's involved in their lives 100%. He takes them to ATV trails/tracks, mountain biking, roller skating, and even running/jogging in little 2k events. They'll even do some kayaking with us this spring/summer.

The 9 year old does have some awkard moments now. For example a month ago I went with them to a roller skating rink. They had the kids get in the middle and do the hokey pokey. Now normally the 9year old is the daredevil who'll try whatever. No doubt in my mind she'd go skydiving if she had the chance. But she showed some signs while participating in the skating thing that other people where a concern to her. But I jumped in right there with them and did the hokey pokey with them and she opened up again.

I guess it varies from peopel to people. I knew some girls in school who were extremely close to their parents and didn't feel the bit embaressed with them around their peers. Others (I being one of them) didn't enjoy them being around. I know a girl now who is 20 and if she takes a guy around her parents and her parents don't like him. That joker is out of there. Normally it's the opposite. Tell your daughter you hate her boyfriend and she'd mount him on the front lawn.

Just stay involved. Instead of laying around watching TV. Go to the park with them or take them skating. And don't be one of the dads who is just standing around with the other dads. Get on the skates, bust your ass, and learn to hang with your kids.

[fatbuckRTO]

My wife can't stand my driving so I sit in the passenger seat a lot. I crawl my hand up and down the head rest like a spider and make hissing sounds, and my stepdaughter laughs and does her best to give me early onset arthritis by beating the shit out of the spider hand. She's 8 years old now. I don't imagine it will be too long before she ignores the spider hand entirely, or just tells me to quit being a dweeb.

[rogue]

Mini-Me is 15 & Young Padawan will be 14 next month. It seems the older they get, the closer we get. :)

[Quick281]

Isn't that half the beauty of it. They all eventually become crazy independent in their teens and things get nasty but as they age they come back around.

Thats how it was in my family, my mom says 4 out of the 5 of us were absolutely terrible in our teens and then we came back around and realized how lucky we were to have her.


No matter where we all are we call in every morning and chit chat. At least the two girls do, the 3 boys let a couple days go by. But we are a very close family for our size.

[Ducati Diva]

Enjoy it now. My daughter is 16 and things are changing. We are still really close but there are more and more times that it's not cool to hang with mom. If you want to be a part of their life as they get older be sure you open your house to the masses of kids that will be a part of their lives. I've lost track of the number of kids that call me mom. :lol: there are 6 teenagers crashed out in my living room as we speak. :panic:

[OneSickPsycho]

Enjoy it now. My daughter is 16 and things are changing. We are still really close but there are more and more times that it's not cool to hang with mom. If you want to be a part of their life as they get older be sure you open your house to the masses of kids that will be a part of their lives. I've lost track of the number of kids that call me mom. :lol: there are 6 teenagers crashed out in my living room as we speak. :panic:

Sounds kinda like a dream I had the other night... Only there were more teenagers... and they were buried in my back yard.

[rogue]

Enjoy it now. My daughter is 16 and things are changing. We are still really close but there are more and more times that it's not cool to hang with mom. If you want to be a part of their life as they get older be sure you open your house to the masses of kids that will be a part of their lives. I've lost track of the number of kids that call me mom. :lol: there are 6 teenagers crashed out in my living room as we speak. :panic:

Same here. I have so many adopted kids I've lost count. My house is like a safe house to some as well. I'd much rather them be here, than out getting into trouble, although I have yet to experience that. I hope I don't. I've experienced problems teens that weren't trouble....just had problems. It makes me thankful that mine don't experience what these couple of kids have.

Not cool to hang with Mom??? When does this event happen? My kids & their friends still like hanging out with me & even drag me out with them! :lol:

[Flexin]

Isn't that half the beauty of it. They all eventually become crazy independent in their teens and things get nasty but as they age they come back around.

Thats how it was in my family, my mom says 4 out of the 5 of us were absolutely terrible in our teens and then we came back around and realized how lucky we were to have her.


No matter where we all are we call in every morning and chit chat. At least the two girls do, the 3 boys let a couple days go by. But we are a very close family for our size.


Sienna is really independent now at 2. :panic: I had a few years there in my teens where mom and I didn't see eye to eye. But like you said I later learned how lucky I was and we are really close. Well my whole family is close. I love it.

James

[Flexin]

Enjoy it now. My daughter is 16 and things are changing. We are still really close but there are more and more times that it's not cool to hang with mom. If you want to be a part of their life as they get older be sure you open your house to the masses of kids that will be a part of their lives. I've lost track of the number of kids that call me mom. :lol: there are 6 teenagers crashed out in my living room as we speak. :panic:

My sister said if Sienna knew how uncool I was she would stop hanging out with me now. :lol:

James

[Quick281]

Some good points raised about letting the other kids hang out.

My mom did that with me and even when some of us started drinking she just looked me in the eyes and said if you drink and drive I will kill you. But if you want to go over to someone's place and drink thats fine, just call me in the morning so that I know everything is fine.

Eventually she just let me start having people over and we would all round up car keys and then party like rockstars. Mom would make us eggs and bacon in the morning or come with us to waffle house. She figured it was best that everything took place in a house with parents, versus all of us sneaking around to do it.

My other 4 siblings (older) were raised when my parents were married and I was born into the divorced family raised by mostly my Mom. So that is some of the reasoning I had such a cool mom. All my older siblings had pulled every trick in the book, my mom just looked at me and said you can try what ever but I know them all so just tell me about it.

Don't drink and drive and don't knock anyone up. But if you do make sure her mom looks good because that is how she will age. Best words of advice ever.

Nothing beats open and honest parenting. Thats how my sisters are doing it and thats how I intend to do it.

[njchopper87]

My mom did that with me and even when some of us started drinking she just looked me in the eyes and said if you drink and drive I will kill you. But if you want to go over to someone's place and drink thats fine, just call me in the morning so that I know everything is fine.


My parents used to be extremely strict with me, but when I started getting older they realized I wasn't the moron raising hell wherever I went and then they loosened the knot. They basically told me the exact same thing. Hell, my dad and neighbor used to offer me beers around 15-16 y/o when they used to just sit around and bullshit. I guess I earned that right, because some of my friends weren't so laid back.

[SoFlaSV]

My girls were 4 and 6 when I started dating my ex, thier mother. It seems like yesterday.

The youngest is a sophomore at UNC-Charlotte and the oldest is a junior at Temple.
They were a lot cheaper back then.

[Flexin]

Here is me with my son Jayden and my little Sienna.

James

[Flexin]

Me feeding Sienna.

James

[Quick281]

Awesome pics Flexin. Be sure to have them framed on a desk so that you can look back at them everyday as they kids speed through their child hood. :D

[TommyHotWheel]

I was singing and dancing with my 2 year old daughter tonight. Then we were sitting back chillin listening to my mp3 player. We had a great time. She was up past bed time hanging with daddy. But it made me sad. One day she might she might be too busy, too old or what ever to hang with daddy. :( How much time do I have?

I love my kids.

James

You will never...Ever have long enough, but at least you will get to see them grow up.

[Flexin]

Awesome pics Flexin. Be sure to have them framed on a desk so that you can look back at them everyday as they kids speed through their child hood. :D

Thanks. They grow so damn fast. Sienna was maybe a month or so in that last pic and Jayden was 2. They are 2 and 4 now and that pic seems like yesterday. :panic:

James

[Particle Man]

fam's lookin good man.

[Flexin]

Jayden and I taking a nap.

James

[Flexin]

fam's lookin good man.

Thanks.

James