Megow Life Tips

I’ve been listening to kids give advice to each other lately. It’s been pretty entertaining. So tonight at dinner, I jotted down some life issues and asked the kids to give “our website” readers their advice regarding said issues. The conversation was getting fun, so I joined in too. Enjoy!

Megow Life Tip - "Developing Hobbies and Cultivating Interests"

Stevie: “Do you have hands? If yes, make art. If you don’t have hands but you are smart, you can do math. If you don’t have hands and you aren’t smart, you can take naps.”

Neela: “If you have to take a bath after it, then it’s a fun thing to do.”

Titus: “I like to do things that I can wear a costume for. So if you don’t have anything fun to do, you should just have a costume party with your friends.”

Olive: “What’s a hobby… Oh, what do I like to do? Hmmm… I like to eat chocolate. Dat’s mine. Eat chocolate.”

Seth: “I always hear people say ‘Do what makes you happy’. I don’t really know about that. Happiness comes and goes through various seasons of life. So I think I would say, ‘Do what brings you joy’. Because even when life is at its absolute worst and there’s no place in your heart for happiness, there’s always room for joy. Happiness seems external, while joy is more deep rooted.



Megow Life Tip - "Shopping"

Stevie: “Don’t shop anywhere unless they sell food their too. Like if you’re buying clothes, make sure they sell snacks at that store too. Eating while you shop is the best part.”

Neela: “If you don’t know where something is, don’t ask a worker for help. Ask a person who doesn’t work there. It’s really funny.”

Titus: “Whenever we go to the store, we always bring in shopping carts inside for the workers. Store workers work hard and everyone needs to be nice and help them.”

Olive: “Always ride in the cart.”

Seth: “Thrift Stores!! It’s not only about the price, but it’s like a treasure hunt!”



Megow Life Tip - "Reducing Stress and Relaxing"

Stevie: “I saw a book in a store. It was called ‘Adults get rid of stress’. I guess just buy that book. And maybe adopt a cat.”

Neela: “Umm dad…I never relax. I can tell people how to be hyper all the time instead?”

Titus: “Eat a snack. Love God. Have another snack. Watch a show. Eat dinner. Play with your friends. Eat another snack.”

Olive: “Drink milk and have cuddle time.”

Seth: “Learn to relax when life is at its absolute insanity phase. Then when things level out, you just live in permanent chill mode and none of life’s little speed bumps can get you too frazzled.”



Megow Life Tip - "Making New Friends"

Stevie: “Step 1) Learn their name. Step 2) Tell them jokes. Step 3) Draw them something or write them a nice note. Step 4) You have a new friend.”

Neela: “I normally just roar at people like a lion. If they play lions with me, we are new friends. If they run away, I make up new imaginary friends that like to play lions.”

Titus: “Be nice to everyone, but especially girls. They are the best friends I like to have because they are fun and pretty. Plus girls like when boys are nice to them.”

Olive: “I play with people and then they are my friends.”

Seth: “Approach every stranger as a potential friend and treat them like a current friend.”



Megow Life Tip- "Taking Tests"

Stevie: “Use your brain and study. If you don’t study, you will do bad. This is not complicated people”

Neela: “Eat the test. Then say your dog ate it. Then when your teacher says ‘I saw you eat the test’, just run outside and be a real dog.”

Titus: “Tests? You mean like YouTube challenges? I guess just watch a bunch of YouTube. Just not Annoying Orange. That show says bad words.

Olive: *stares blankly at me and does three consecutive extremely long blinks while grimacing.* Apparently, Olive is not a fan of the word ‘test’.

Seth: “Studying is all about good snacks. I make flashcards, and whenever I learn a flashcard, I get a bite of my snack.”



Megow Life Tip - "Finding Lost Objects Around the House"

Stevie: “Look for clues, find evidence, talk to people, and look in holes.”

Neela: “Normally, I get really mad when I lose something. Then I run and run around because I’m so mad. When I’m done running around, I’m tired and can’t remember what I lost or why I was running. So then I'm happy again."

Titus: “Always keep a magnifying glass in your underwear drawer.”

Olive: “I don’t look for things. I cry instead. Then people help me find it.”

Seth: “Have a ‘good finder of the house’ competition to find whatever you lost. Kids love being asked to find things. I’ve made an aluminum foil ‘champion finder hat’ for the last kid who found my cell phone”



Megow Life Tip - "Staying Healthy"

Stevie: “Only drink water. It is the healthiest. Except for at bedtime; then you can drink some chocolate milk.”

Neela: “I lick myself clean. That’s called a cat bath. If you are a cat, then you don’t need to be healthy because even if you die, you have nine lives.”

Titus: “I exercise everyday. I do pushups, jumpin jacks, and these... *spins around in a circle before crouching down in some sort of ninja pose*

Olive: “I like bubble baths at night time.”

Seth: “Drink coffee in the morning. It helps keep you on a normal poop schedule :)”



Megow Life Tip - "Making and Saving Money"
Stevie: “I keep my money in my private box. I don’t spend it until I really really want something.”

Neela: “Money? Dad, can I have $5?”

Titus: “People throw pennies on the ground. I don’t know why they leave them there, I pick them up and save them in my bank. I have so so many pennies now.”

Olive: “When you lose a tooth, you get rich.”

Seth: “Find free hobbies and friends who are happy to be fed sandwiches and water when they come over. Hahaha”



Megow Life Tip - "Keeping a Clean House"

Stevie: “Gross… cleaning. I don’t mean to clean things that are gross. I mean it is gross to clean things.”

Neela: “I pretend to clean, but I really just go to sleep under my bed.”

Titus: “I like to surprise people by cleaning their rooms for them.”

Olive: “Flush poop down the potty, right daddy?”

Seth: *laughs*



Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Seth

What's that smell?

I’ve learned that becoming a parent really expands the boundaries of your senses. Hahaha. They seem to get pressed to the limits of human understanding at times.

Hearing: 

“Dad. Dad. Dad. Daddy. Dad. Seth. Mr Seth. Dad. Daddy. Dad. Dad. Seth. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.”

Taste: 

“I made you a surprise dessert! You will love it. It’s ice cream, hummus, fruit snacks, and ketchup. Try it…. No don’t save it for later, try it now! I can’t wait to see how much you will love it!!”

Sight: 

When I got called back to church nursery because Neela got her head stuck in the play kitchen.

Touch: 

“Why is the carpet soaking wet and covered with sugar?”

However, the one that probably hits me the hardest is smell. Before entering parenthood, I (along with many of us I’m sure) thought the worst part of parent smell would be dirty poop diapers. In our heads, we are engrained with the nightmare of catching a horrid whiff of a #2 diaper.

Admit it, we were all scared of the poop.

The older my kids got, the more I learned that poop was mere child’s play when it came to the aroma of children. However, I did devote an entire post to “poop” awhile back. Seriously though, a poop diaper is nothing compared to the multitude of pungent aromas that will tickle your nostrils once you acquire a child. This post I want to talk about the worst smell of all… Fermented Urine.

Poop dries and becomes just a brown chalk-like (non-smelly) substance over time; however pee just gets exponentially worse.  Here are two true stories about when that disgusting, murky pee smell overtook in the Megow house. Warning, they are pretty gross. Just FYI.

Stevie was just a little baby. She couldn’t have been more than a few months old. This putrid odor begins to form in the master bedroom. It begins to grow in magnitude daily, and I’m convinced it’s a dirty diaper.  Every day, I look around for the culprit but each day come up empty handed. Finally, the smell comes to a boiling point around 2am. So I wake up in the middle of the night bound and determined to end this problem once and for all. I begin smelling each individual item in the bedroom. Once each object has passed the smell test, I physically place the item in the living room to narrow down the search. Slowly but surely, everything is removed except our bed, an empty end table, and an empty bookshelf. Naturally, I strip the bed. Once that is done, the smell is still going strong. I take apart the bed and move the frame, boxspring, and mattress out of the room. Holy Crap! The smell is still as strong as ever. So I move the end table out and triple check the bookshelf for any remaining items. By now the smell is so strong, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where it’s coming from. All I know is that it’s still alive and burning my nostrils. So I get on my hands and knees and start to sniff the carpet. I’m crawling all over our stupid bedroom, but no luck. I’m just standing in a barren room with an empty bookshelf. Suddenly it hits me. I haven’t checked ON TOP of the bookshelf. I can’t see the top, but I’m desperate so I just run my hand across the top. I hit something and feel it splash on my hand. Immediately I jerk my hand back and take a whiff of my fingers. Suddenly, I find myself struggling to breathe. In the midst of the gasping for oxygen, I realize I located the source of the smell. After I wash my hands and collect my cool, I SLOWLY reach my hand back up to the top of the shelf. With neurosurgeon like precision I carefully grasp the object and gently bring it to my line of sight. Immediately when I see it, I know EXACTLY what it is! Now get ready, because this is pretty gross. Apparently when Crissy took her pregnancy test, I was so on edge that I just stood holding the cup of pee while staring and waiting for the results. When it displayed “pregnant” and in my extreme excitement induced stupor, I just sat the cup down somewhere not thinking. I mean come on. This was our first baby! That’s understandable, right? Right? Just don’t answer. Haha. Apparently, the place I sat the cup filled with urine was completely out of sight and far enough away from our living spots where it wouldn’t raise an immediate flag from the smell. Well, by my estimate that cup has been up there for over a year.  There were literally tiny life forms swimming around in that cup of pregnancy tested pee. After all of this, I decide to just soak my hand in bleach water for about 5 minutes. While my well-aged urine splashed hand is soaking in this burning liquid, I ponder what life has in store for me as a parent. Aaaand cue next story…

Four kids later and I haven’t dealt with any more horrific pee instances. I mean I’ve had some dealings with rotten, dead wild animals under the house, but nothing of the urine variety. Until one day last year… I pick up Olive from daycare and notice that wonderful sight that every parent loves to witness. My kid standing in the hallway holding a plastic bag.

Girl, you better wipe that smile off yo’ face. We both know you got pee pants in that bag.

Crap. So I take the damp bag and put it as far away from me as possible in the car, but not too far because I don’t want that junk to get left in the car in the South Georgia heat. However, I did have to go grocery shopping so I can’t immediately go home and throw the pee pants in the wash. So I just make a mental reminder to wash those things asap when you get home. Fast forward an hour. I pull up to your house and have to unload the Mount Everest of groceries from the back of my van, so I hand the urine pants bag to the guilty party and tell her to go in and throw her pants in the wash ; get ready for a quick bath.  I get all of the groceries put up, run to the bathroom, find her standing her naked and waiting for her bath. I bathe her real quick, then run to glance at the washing machine to see a pair of pants in there. So I run the washer and start dinner. Crisis averted. A few weeks pass. Hahahaha.  It’s a relaxing Saturday at the house when suddenly I smell this horrid odor. Not just an ordinary bad smell, but the equivalent of stepping in a dead animal carcass stuffed with rotten eggs and 3 year spoiled coffee creamer. Suddenly, I see Olive burst out of her room with puke dripping down from her chin to her shirt. So I sprint to her room to find some opened plastic bags thrown around across the floor. Apparently giving a 4 year old the job of putting her pee pants in the laundry was too much for my four year old, because she instead got caught up playing with toys and the bag slowly made its way to the bottom of the toy bin. And there it sat and festered until Olive curiously opened it and threw up everywhere. As I examine it closely I see a brittle, discolored Ziploc bag containing what looks like Sloth from the Goonies burp cloth when he was infant. So many putrid colors and smells from that bag. 

 “Hey you guuuys. I just spit up.”

However, it’s not the sight the hits me first. It’s the smell. Immediately, I recall this musky scent… Aged Urine. Olive must have thrown her clean pants in the wash and decided to hide the pee pants bag. Instantly, I began to dry heave and franticly grasp for the only thing in my reach that I can use to pick up this mystery cloth item, Olive’s Minnie Mouse Microphone. I lift the “used to be pants” and begin to race to the outside dumpster. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. As I’m running outside, it catches a breeze and literally blows into my face. The smell was so strong that I could taste it. As you are reading this and you are thinking, “Ohhh, it must have went in his mouth”. Let me stop you right there. My mouth was completely closed. The stench was just so viscous that when it brushed by my face, I could feel it drip down my nostrils and onto the back of my tongue. I then begin to vomit all over my driveway. It’s too much. I just run inside and leave in festering there in the driveway. I locked the door and we stayed inside for the rest of the day. Shoot, I didn’t even deal with it until we got home from church the next afternoon. Even to this day, I still shutter at the memory. Needless to say, my new philosophy is when I see my kids holding a plastic bag after school that junk goes straight in the trashcan.

So new parents, just know poop is gross but old pee will melt your face. ;)

Be Blessed,

Seth

Being a Light

If anyone follows the news, watches tv, uses social media, or even just has basic conversations with people, they have probably noticed the tension in our country. I mean it’s everywhere, argument after argument, accusation after accusation, opinion after opinion. It is starting to make me extremely sad. I think this post is just going to be short, little write up about how I feel about all of this brewing anger and dividedness.

First, I’m not big on giving my viewpoints on things. I despise debating. There are always facts to support every side of an argument. Now, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with sharing opinions. I just feel there is a difference in explaining why we feel a certain why vs. knowing we are right and the other people are wrong. It’s important for us to defend what’s important to us. Also, I don’t think that my passive approach is the best method. If I did that, it would be just like thinking that I’m right and other people are wrong. Honestly, I can’t begin to comprehend the amazing number of personalities and mindsets that God has programmed in each of us. That’s probably the reason that I try to stay publically neutral on hot button issues. I never want to get so entrenched in my own opinions that I’m blinded to a certain group of people’s feelings or past experiences.

Now when I said I don’t like to debate or share my opinion on many things, that does not mean that I am blind to issues or ignore them. I just feel kindness, patience, compassion, joy, and love are my main tactic. Simply being kind to people I encounter each day is basically my entire approach to life :D Loving people where they are. Sharing love with someone can break barriers much more effectively than sharing opinions. Buying someone breakfast, truly listening during a conversation, sacrificing some personal time to help a neighbor organize their garage, complimenting someone’s hard work, giving a friend a hug when it’s needed, or just smiling when you pass someone in the hallway are things that just fill people’s heart with warmth.  Leaving people feeling more valuable than how I found them is my goal. I’m convinced that making someone feel less than or casting guilt will never result in anything positive. All of the smarts, time spent, and energy invested won’t amount to anything lastingly positive if it’s presented in a way that belittles another. One good litmus test I give myself is that if I speak solely with the intention to put a negative image of someone in the mind of the person I’m talking with then it’s not of God and I just need to be quiet. Hahahah. It’s pretty effective :) 

I’m just so relieved that I not commanded to change minds. I don’t have to worry about isolating people that He might have on my path in the future. He didn’t call me to change minds. In fact, He didn’t call me to change hearts either, because He told us that He’s got that taken care of. He just told us to love Him and love people. It’s just that simple. And I love that. 

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Seth

Top 10 List - "The Perks of Single Parenting"

While I freaking love all of my two parent families so much and in all honesty don't really feel much stress difference between two parent/single parent families (read about that why I feel that way here), this post is a shout-out to my fellow single parent peeps. However, in truth a lot of this applies to being a parent in general. :)

Side note: Can you tell I hate leaving people out? hahahaha

Top 10 Perks of Single Parenting:

10) Excellent hygiene - Being a solo parent gives you the privilege of being the permanent and primary (well only) target for all projectile vomit streams, booger cannons, and crusty orange Cheetos fingers. This provides the opportunity for multiple hand washes, outfit changes, and bathing sessions a day :)

9) Having the entire bed to yourself -

“Ahhh this entire comfy bed all to myself”

*peeks around corner*

“What?...No, you can’t sleep in here. You have your own bed.”

*six hours later*

8) - You never have to sleep alone - (see above)

7) Almost super human immune system – Due to the fact that I am generally busy still preparing drinks shortly after putting everyone’s plates on the table and not sitting down eating with the them yet, most of the food I stick in my mouth has a 43% chance of either being touched by hands that just touched a frog, being the fresh recipient of a sneeze, or being knocked on the floor by a few children who decided to play a nice relaxing game of “Cheetah vs Honey Badger – A Fight to the Death” around the dinner table. I just tell myself my kids want to keep me healthy and are purposely boosting my immune system.

6) Absolute control of the car radio – Well, at least for a few songs then we will listen to ‘I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas’ for the remainder of the trip (regardless of the fact that it's September).

5) You command enough authority to merge the “Mom Glare” and the “Dad Voice” into one purely spine-chilling heed to obey

4) There’s not another parent around to tell you ‘No’ – “Ok guys, who wants to pick out a crazy outfit for school picture day?” *Looks around for another adult to object* “Great! Let’s get crazy with it!”

"Sure, you can wear your heart moonboots."

3) A permanent “get out of boring conversations” card – It is literally a law that kids must interrupt their parents’ adult conversation at least every 5-6 minutes. Since you’re the only parent present you can relax if you find yourself in a terribly dreary talk with another adult, because guaranteed in about 42 seconds a child is going to bust into that conversation giving you a quick and effective get away.

2) Language Morality Checks – Since it’s just you and the kid(s), most conversations and activities are with them, and oh boy, can kids pick out even the slightest of colorful language. In our house don’t even think about saying anything vulgar. This is a literal conversation between me and Stevie:

Stevie *walking up to me solemn and slow*:
"Daddy, I heard you say the 'f word' last night when you were on the phone."
Seth: "What?! No you didn't."
Stevie: "Yes. I did. I heard you say it!"
Seth: "Baby, I never say that word."
Stevie: "Well, last night you did."
Seth: "What 'f word' are you talking about?"
Stevie: "You said 'I'm so freaking tired.' Daddy you know 'Freaking' is a word we shouldn't say."

Lately, my current vocabulary is clean enough that I could record it and use it as a Baby Einstein’s DVD commentary :)

1) Permanent Wingman- Being a single parent is tough. I admit that. However I will say that being solo with young kids is a pretty significant opposite sex attention grabber. You really don’t have to put yourself there out there. Like at all. For example:

*While we are grocery shopping Seth spots cute woman on the bread isle*

Seth – “Hello.”

Woman – “Hi.”

Neela – “Are you married?”

*Seth stunned*

Stevie – “Neela! Don’t ask! You are supposed to look to see if she has a ring on hand, right dad?”

*Seth kind of awkwardly smiles and chuckles*

Titus – “My dad is really tall.”

Olive – “And hairy.”

*Seth now pretending to browse the bread selection to avoid any eye contact*

Neela – “So do you want to marry him or not? We still have to finish grocery shopping.”

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Seth

Neela-isms

One of my favorite things about parenting is seeing my kids personalities blossom and take shape. Each of them have their own unique flair and bring different things to the table. For example, Stevie is the stoic artist. She's always wanting to encourage and help her daddy. She is also extremely smart & tech savy. Titus is kind hearted one. He loves to give gifts and is the social butterfly/flirt. hahaha. Olive is my go with the flow kinda kid. She's always walking around with a giant smile, just willing to play whatever anyone else is wanting to play. She's also a protector of her siblings. Even as the youngest, in Olive's eyes, you don't mess with her brother or sister. 

And then there's Neela.... :) Well, she's normally the one that keeps me laughing. Never really intentionally. She doesn't really tell jokes or try to entertain, it's more of just a delightful experience watching how she handles life and processes things around her. I can pretty much guarantee if you are around her for more than a few minutes, she'll say or do something absolutely and completely random. 

For this post, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite things she's said in the past few weeks. I've been keeping a running list of the gems that's come out of her mouth. Enjoy :)

____________________________________

Seth: "Guys, I was thinking. I can't wait until I have grandbabies! That's going to be so much fun."

Neela: "Ugh... I'm adopting teenagers when I'm a grown up. Kids are too much work. Trust me I know. I'm a kid, and I'm A LOTTA work."

*Titus accidentally runs into Neela and knocks her over*

Seth: "Titus, buddy. I know that was an accident, but you need to apologize to your sister."

Titus: "I'm sorry Neela."

*silence*

Seth: "Neela, what do we say when someone says I'm sorry?"

Neela: *turning to Titus*: "You're welcome."

Seth: "Neela. Your hands are sticky... so are your arms.... and your face.... and your hair. Seriously, kid how are you always so sticky."

Neela *pauses*: "Well... ever since kindergarten, I've become sticky as a predatory defense."

Neela: "I've decided when I grow up, I'm gonna get married."

Seth: "Oh really? Well, that's great!"

Neela: "Yeah, I don't want it to be too much work to find a husband though. I'm just gonna move to Africa and marry the first man I meet."

Seth: "Neela, will you rub my back? It really hurts and you are so good at it."

*Starts to rub dad's back*

Seth: "How are you good at rubbing backs?"

Neela: "At school I trade back massages for 'Bee Bucks' with the substitute teachers."

On a family walk

Neela: "I'm so excited."

Seth: "Why?"

Neela: My favorite holiday is coming up."

Seth: "Oh really. What is it?"

Neela: "Well, I'll give you a hint. It comes after Halloween and Thanksgiving."

Seth: "Hhhmmmm.... I wonder what it is?"

Neela: "Duh dad. It's Winter. That's my favorite holiday."

Neela: "Dad, you are getting so chunky. You need to go on a diet."

Seth: "Well, actually I am on a diet. That why I've been eating a lot healthier lately."

Neela: "Ugh... If I ever get chunky, I'm never gonna go on a diet. I will just be chunky or be dead."

On the way to school one morning

Neela: Dad. I've decided to retire from second grade."

Neela: "Dad, when I grow up. I'm gonna find and tame a dragon. I'm gonna name him... *pauses* .... Gilbert."

Neela: "I'm easy to make happy. Just give me 'aminals' and feed me candy."

Neela: "I've decided. After my last day of middle school instead of walking home, I'm walking to Africa. I need to live there soon, because I need 20 dogs." 

Neela is sitting on the couch petting our dog, Douglas.

Neela: "Douglas and me have so many things in common, but we have one major thing in common."

Seth: "What's that?"

Neela: "We both got nice rumps."

I see Stevie and Neela's bedroom light on way after bedtime. I walk into their room to find Stevie asleep in her bed, but Neela on the floor in her underwear, laying on her back and licking her legs.

Seth: "Neela! What are you doing?!?"

Neela: "Grooming."

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Seth

The Uncertainty of Change

I've always tried to be incredibly open with everyone here. Just talking informally from one friend to another. This blog has been going strong for just at 3 years now, and I've met some incredible people along the way. Honestly, I really didn't have a topic in mind when I sat down and starting typing. I just had these things I wanted to say and feelings I wanted to work through. So I'm just going to see what comes up as I type and talk to you.

The past few months my blog has been pretty barren. Rehashing older posts or posting some quick, easy things just for a quick laugh or storing memories for down the road for my kids. You know, for the life of me I couldn't put my finger on exactly why this happened. It's not writer's block, as I've had plenty of possible ideas for topics. It's just every time I sit to type something feels off. As I was talking to someone tonight, I think I know why. There's some sort of change coming in my life. I think that happens to so many of us when change is right around the corner.  I can't exactly tell you what the change is, I am just certain it's coming.

I think I'm discovering as I type that the point of this post is the simply convey the feelings I have about this future mystery change. It's hard to express. Normally I'm pretty good at conveying my emotions and feelings into written words, but this is different. It's the uncertainty of knowing something is going to happen in your life soon, but not knowing what or when. It's praying and hoping for the change to be wonderful and exciting, while not getting my hopes too high up in case it's not what I expected. Not that it would be less wonderful, it would simply be different then the mental image I painted in my head. Maybe I would describe it as feeling intense vibrations on the ground while you are about to cross a big hill. Not really certain what or who is over that hill,  it could be a big fun amusement park or maybe a pack of hungry, rabid hyenas. All I know is there's definitely something different than on the path previously.

It's moments like these that I'm reminded of how important Faith is in our life. I don't really know what to expect because honestly, I don't exactly know what I'm walking into. The only thing I do know is God is Faithful and will walk with me. This is super comforting to me as a single parent because as I encounter change, I'm not alone. I have Someone who already knows what's over the hill. Whether it be amazingly good or not so good, He knows and He's not leaving my side. That's such an amazing feeling. There are so many times I think of myself solely responsible for decisions that affect my children when they are in my care. Truthfully, that will eat you alive. It's why I constantly have to remind myself that God is not only with me but for me.

So many times we as new parents, new adults, new employees, new students... basically anything new, experience that deep breath of pause and reflection before beginning. Some do a quick in and out breath and are ready to go. Others like to take their time to focus on various aspects of what they might encounter. I don't believe there is a right or wrong way to mentally prepare for change. It just happens. I believe once change is on the horizon, it's coming whether we are prepared or not.

________

There is one thing that I am reminded of as I'm finishing up: In the book of Mark, the disciples and Jesus encounter a boy and his father in a crowd of people. The Scripture says the boy was being controlled by an evil spirit. In the past the disciples demonstrated they had the Faith in God to cast out evil spirits, but this one wasn't budging when the disciples tried to cast it out. Jesus spoke with the crowd and the father of the boy briefly and then immediately cast out the spirit. Later on when the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cast it out, Jesus simply replied "this kind only come out by prayer".

Now... I'm pretty positive you are wondering why the heck I'm talking about Jesus casting out a demon in a random post about changes in my life. Hahahaha. Well, I assure you no one in my home is possessed. The reason it comes to mind is the fact that Jesus was instantly able to cast it out; however, when asked why by the disciples why they weren't able to, He said it required prayer. Was there a point in that story where Jesus retreated in private to pray? Nope. Did He pray right before ordering the spirit to leave? Nope. To me that means He must have been praying beforehand. This is just my personal interpretation, but the prayer He prayed before arriving at the situation prepared Him for what was to come. There wasn't time to seek and commune with God when He was in front of the boy, but He had already had that prayer with His Father previously. Whether Jesus learned in his previous prayer time that He would be encountering this boy or if He was just praying and communing with His Father doesn't interest me at the moment. It's just proof that prayer is not only important but essential to our success in the future.

Going back to whatever change I feel coming, I'm positive that I need to be praying before I get there. Hahahaha. I just don't want to get into a situation, find myself in a bind, and ask Jesus for help, only to realize I haven't prayed at all about any of this prior. I don't want to be a "help me" prayer person. Only reaching out in times of need or concern. To me prayer is so much more than a one or even two sided conversation with God. It's a way to realign our spirit man with God. Inner peace, a positive mental mindset, and joy are also some of my favorite bonuses that come along with it as well.

________

Now all of that being said, I have a feeling this is going to be a wonderful thing/change for me and my family. I just wanted to remind myself that I need to continue to pray regardless of how I feel in the moment. Because even if the change is amazingly beautiful, the only thing prayer can do is make it even better.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Seth

Stevie's First Post!!

Stevie loves to write/draw/create/etc. Lately, she's been asking about putting something on the blog, and a few weeks ago, her and I found a story she wrote a little while back. We read it together, and I laughed so hard. I love her creativity in her writing. And of course, if I have the opportunity to showcase my kids then I'm going to brag about them until the sun comes up! :D We decided I would type up her story (exactly as it is written *cute misspellings and all*) since reading scanned pages can be kinda difficult for some. So we go...

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Supercat vs. Fang

Author/Illustrator: Stevie Joy Megow

Once upon a time there lived a dragon. It was so powerful it made a mustache and put it on. The dragon added the powers inside a catsle but people tried to kill the dragon for clothing. The dragon added fire and ice but then a cat broke the window and fell in the mustache and the mustache earned cat raining ability.

The dragon

Then a really strong person got an ax and chopped the door down and 2 contries came to the dragon and they killed it. But the mustache remained with all 3 powers unharmed. Then they hid the mustache for 1,000 years in a chest but then a lonely alley cat was wondering around and saw the chest and used it's sharp nails to open the chest and felt the mustache.

It felt but it was so powerful it stuck to his head and he earned all his powers but then he saw something. "What was that" he said to himself. Then he said, "Who are you?" Then he appeared from the shadows. It was... dun... dun... dun... the dog. 

The dog said I have powers and you don't! Mwhahahahaha! You litttle alley cat with a mustache. 

Then the dog said I need that powerful mustache. He did an evil grin and laghed again. Then the alley cat went home sadly thinking about how he was bullied. Feeling sad he came home and in a sad voice he said "hey mom."

His mom said "why are you feeling sad Whiskers?"

He told his mom the whole story his mom felt bad for him. His mom told him about the evil dogs. 

She said "The evil dogs have been around since the dragon. When he was a baby pup but then he cried when the dragon got chopped with an ax. He's going to get revenge so he's gonna destroy all the people that were there then he earned a power because he loved the dragon so much. He's not nice he abanded his family because he stole a catsle. It was the dragon's catsle and he's looking for the one with the powerful item."

"Did you like it Whiskers?" said the mom with a happy face.

Then he went to an abanded shop to test his powers. The powers haven't been used in years so the fire heated up and the ice froze up and the cat rain added cats. Then the fire came out really fast out really fast and ice came right to his head and then the cat rain came and when he looked outside it was raining cats. So he tore off the mustache an the cat rain stopped and the fire was out. Lastly the ice melted. He never wanted to try that again.

But then he saw the dog. He said, "I been watching this whole time." 

"Now I will have your mustache." Said the dog.

Then Whiskers said, "call me super cat" and used ice on him. 

Supercat said "what's your real name?'

The dog said meanly "Fang." 

Supercat said, "you have one power and I have 3!"

"Grrrrr" said the dog. "Who cares?" 

Fang used his physic powers to life him. Then Supercat had to do something 

"So weird" he did it he sang a lullaby. "Rock a by uh sleep my little Fang." 

Fang fell asleep. Then he awoke. And said "I just want your island!!" Then he ran into the shadows and broke the ice. Then supercat went to celebrate. He went to get a pizza. He told the worker the whole story. Then he got a free pizza. He said thanks. Then he saw some poor people so he gave them $20. He felt proud and walked home happily thinking about being rich and feeling like a superhero. Then told his mom they were both proud and went to go eat but then they saw the worker was Fang!

Supercat said "Fang, what are you doing here."

"Here to take money for the island." Then he flew into the shadows and told them all about Fang and then he saw they all have powers. Then we all used our powers and sent him to jail but he escaped and took my mustache....

To be continued....

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Peace, Love, and Eat Cupcakes!

Stevie

Why I Love Being a Single Dad

Divorce/Separation is the worst. Not being able to be around your kids all of the time is heart wrenchingly painful. However, in this post, I’m not going to (try to not) focus as much on the negatives of single parenting, but highlight the parts of being a single dad that I love. However, remember that my kids are with my 24/7 so my situation is a bit different than others.

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I feel so extremely blessed with my life. I get to be around my kids all of the time. People are constantly asking me if I need a break or would I enjoy having them away from me on the weekends. I guess that would be nice on occasion, like 2 nights a month. But in all honesty, I freaking love being around my kids. It’s why I love being a single dad. I get to be with them all the time. Let me break down why I love it.

"It's gonna be a great post, today!" 

First off, This may sounds strange upon first reading but I'm ultra grateful that I'm a single dad and not a single mom because*soapbox alert* I talk about this a lot, but single dads seriously do have it WAY easier than single moms. Is that fair or right? Absolutely not. It’s simply the world we live in. I couldn’t imagine being a single mom in this day and age. For me as a full time single dad, I feel like people view me and the kids as a fun commodity to look at or observe. Hahaha. While unfortunately full time single moms are just accepted in our culture as a “normal thing”. For example, when I show up somewhere and my kids are looking semi-feral and in mismatched clothes, I can feel other parents go “Awe… look he’s trying his best. Those kids are so cute. Look at their little mismatched clothes” I’m not in this for sympathy, I’m just trying my best. However, I feel like if a single mom showed up to the exact same event with kids looking the exact same manner, some people might think “Look at those kids. She really needs to take better care of them.” It’s the exact situation, I just feel as a parent (especially of younger children), women are held to such an insanely high standard in our society. So all this being said, single moms are my freaking heroes. Both single dads and single moms are just trying their best, but moms just have so much more parenting pressure. They are still responsible for balancing money, cleaning, etc. (just like single dads), but when it comes to pressures to have perfectly groomed, dressed well-behaved, polite, and involved children, they get judged so much more harshly than men. So in response to this. Single moms are doing both roles (mom and dad) just like single dads. Pouring into both roles can be exhausting. I mean freaking Geez-Louise, our society is going to have to cut them some slack somewhere.  *end of soapbox*

Next, being a dad is fun. It’s not just blanket forts and burping contests with the kids, but if a dad is doing it right, those are both important elements of successful fathering ;) hahaha.

  

Seriously, having the kids with me is the funnest thing ever. I get to learn so much about them. All their individual little quirks, strengths, desires, annoyances, everything!! It's like being fully submersed in their lives and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I mean seriously is it possible to find a group of cooler kids than these!!!

This was on a day they came to work with me. For important it was a "dress yourself" day :D

Being a dad also comes with big responsibilities. Generally, in a co-parent home, I believe these tend to come from two places: 1) Listening to mom about where the kids are emotionally, physically, etc. Moms are just generally so much more empathetic and involved day to day (again, especially with young kids). They are the experts in my opinion, no doubt. Basically, trusting her enough as far as parenting to know what’s best.  2) Decisions of more of a big picture type. Not that I think women are and should be any less involved in decision making at all, I just mean I think a man should protect, guide, and most take responsibility for his family. So that means the buck stops with him. So mostly, it’s just a responsibility thing. Ok. I kind of got off track. My point is that being a single dad means I need to encompass both of these roles. Kids need firm boundaries but also room to explore. A sense of whimsy and wonder but also a steady and reliable parent. Kids need fun and unexpected nonsense, but also routines and schedules. Since it’s just me doing all of this, it was crazy uncomfortable and awkward at first. I felt like a piece of hard clay being squeezed through a playdoh spaghetti maker. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t fit the mold of both me and Crissy combined. In my head, I needed to be this for my kids. By our late twenties, we are generally pretty set in who we are and why we do the things we do. Thankfully, my life took a crazy, turn by giving me a few horrific years and dumping a crazy amount of responsibility solely in my lap. However, I soon learned what a blessing I was given. I didn’t need to be “Seth and Crissy” to my kids. I just needed to be “Seth” and the best version of me ever. God radically altered my life. My personality changed, my empathy level increased, my positivity went up, my stress level went down, my general outlook on life improved. It’s all because I was given the job title of “Single Dad”. That’s my second reason I love it so much, it formed me into the person I’ve always wanted to be, but was too stubborn and set in my ways to let that happen. Being in a single father position I was forced to let God stretch and kneed me, so I could be pliable and fit whatever mold I needed to be in, whatever the stage of life I might find myself.

Finally, I know this sounds selfish, but I love the freedom it provides. If my kids want to wear something weird to school or bring a (rescued from the highway) turtle to the store in a cardboard box while we shop, well… I love being able to say “yes” without having to run it by another adult.

"People are going to LOVE this turtle."

Since I’m around them all the time, I can kind of encourage whatever special traits I see in them. It’s no debating on whether Stevie should take dance classes or art lessons. I just make my choice, and we do it. Mostly, I can raise them as weird as I want. I love weirdness. I absolutely adore it. Normalcy is so boring to me. I love having free reign over the amount of weirdness allowed in my house. I know kids have to learn to function in society, but they are kids only once. If they want to go play with ketchup in the tub, well I don’t really care. Pretty much, I encourage any kind of strange idea they have. They want to invent slime to help their hair grow faster? Sure. They want to eat a cricket? Sure. Want dad to act super fun at someone's house and let people paint his face? Sure. 

 

Instead of limiting and banning specific activities/things, my kids just know a few basic rules: 1) Be kind 2) Don’t hurt yourself or anyone else 3) Don’t make too big of a mess 4) Clean up after said mess 5) Eat vegetables every day 6) Respect yours and other people’s bodies and feelings 7) If you barf, do it anywhere but the carpet or bed.   That’s pretty much it. If what you want to do, meets those criteria, go for it! For instance, at Stevie’s 8^th birthday party, it was raining so instead of cancelling the piñata. I had the idea for an indoor piñata. Based on the faces of every mom in attendance, I’m sure if I were married, I would have gotten the “don’t even think about it” look. Fortunately for me and the kids, I’m not, so I can do things my way. So you can bet your butt we had an indoor piñata, and that junk was hysterical and fun.

To quote a mom that was in attendance:

"It was risky to fairly safe" 

Hahaha!!

I mean in reality, it’s ultra tough at times. Another helping hand and encourager would be nice, but I’m just so in love with my life currently that God is going to have to knock me on my butt with a woman that I feel just clicks. Right now though, I can’t think of a single thing better than taking my kids to the park, just them and me. Receiving 100% of their corny jokes, hilarious stories, heart talks, and hugs. It just can’t be beat.

I wanted to end this post with one of my favorite little “Megowisms”, but I couldn’t decide between two. That means I will just post them both. Aaaahhhhh… personal freedom. :D

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Seth

Top 10 List: First Week of School vs Second Week of School

10) Buying/Rebuying School Supplies 

First Week

Second Week

9) Selecting your child's school clothes

First Week

*The night before school*

"I'm going to do clothes the night before all year long."

"Ok guys. I picked you all out the perfect outfits and laid them out for you!"

"That shirt is a little wrinkly. Hand it to me so I can iron it."

Second Week

*the morning of school*

"You're not dressed yet?! ....  What? .... No I didn't lay out your clothes last night. You have hands and eyeballs. Pick out your own clothes. I'm not your slave. "

"Your shirt has a giant pizza stain. .... Here.... Just wear this Book-It Club button to cover it up."

"Well... I'm sorry you can't find your other shoe, but we have to go. Just wear your rain boots I guess."

7) Homework

First Week

"The teacher said all we needed to do for homework tonight was to read picture book together as a family."

"Dad, what century did the Mongols rule China? ... Oh yeah, is (b) positive or negative in the Quadratic Equation? ... Also, I'm outta paper."

7) Bathing

First Week
*The night before school*

"Everyone needs to take a good bath, so you can be super clean for school in the morning"

*The morning of school*

"I know you bathed last night, but let's go ahead and wash your hair again so it will have those pretty curls."

Second Week

*The night before school*

"Let's just wake up early in the morning and everyone can take a bath then."

*The morning of school*
-Thinking to self-  "Eeehhhh, they aren't that dirty.  -hits snooze button-

6) Waking up

First Week

"Yay school!!"

Second Week

5) Breakfast

First Week

"Hey buddy, here's your milk. Make sure to drink your juice too. I want you to have a healthy breakfast for school."

Second Week

"Can I get 4 packs of ketchup for these hash browns please? Also, is it too early to order a McFlurry?"

4) Morning Ride to School

First Week 
*Bus riders*

"Of course I'll walk you to the bus stop!"

*Parent driving the kids to school*

Second Week

*Bus riders*

"You better hurry up and run or you're going to miss that bus." -goes back to sleep-

*Parent driving the kids to school*

3) Discussing the school day over dinner

First Week
Parent - "How was school today?! What did you learn? I want to hear everything!"

Child - "It was great! I made a new friend! Also, I learned the neatest trick for doing my Number 9 times tables!"

Child - "I missed you so much while you were at school!"

Parent - "I know! I was thinking about you all day too!"

Second Week
Parent - "So whaddya do at school?"
Child - "I learned how to make a fart noise with my armpit at recess."

Child - "School is boring. I think I might be sick tomorrow because it's so boring."

Parent - "If that school nurse calls me to pick you up again because 'your finger hurts', honest to God, I'm going to lose my mind."

2) Parent Paperwork (first day vs second day)

First  Day

"How cute. A little questionnaire about our family."

Second Day

"Ok. I've read and signed the handbooks, filled out the classroom rules sheet, completed all three pages of the lunch form, finished up four copies of  health information sheet for the school nurse, made updates to every child's emergency contact forms, became familiar with multiple classroom schedules, and reviewed Friday Folder/Homework procedures. Now all I have to do is download three different iphone apps for parent/teacher communication, join a group message chain for school volunteers, and register my email in a few different study tip websites.

1) Your child's overall enthusiasm level about school:

First Week

Second Week

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing :D

Seth

Intelligence vs Wisdom

So this post isn't really about me or the kids, it's just something that's been floating around my head lately. I figured I would just type it up. :)

With all of the amount of information accessible nowadays, it seems everyone is able to research and learn about various topics/subjects that interest them. I love that. The ability to learn about things that I might want to know more about is just so neat. However, the more I observe the behavior and mindset of our society in general, I can't but notice that intellect is taking the place of wisdom. Again, the purpose of this post isn't to downplay the importance of learning or bash the idea of being intelligent. This is just my personal opinion on the matter of isolating facts/opinions vs true wisdom.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone walks in a room and wants everyone to know they are the smartest person there. Every conversation they are a part of, they instantly offer the "right opinion" or the "correct answer" to any question that is posed (or not even posed). I really think it's great to have opinions and the ability to give advice if asked. But at times even if we might be knowledgeable on a topic, know statistics, and able to give examples to support our argument, I've learned it's better to apply wisdom rather than intelligence.

In my opinion constantly interjecting an opinion or giving unsolicited advice is unnecessary. I truly despise when people love to debate on basically every topic that is presented before them. I think I'm speaking from personal experience. -For years and years, I ALWAYS had the right answer. I constantly knew exactly what people needed to do and didn't mind telling them. In fact, I was convinced that this was an act of service. If someone was going through something hard, I would immediately offer advice and the right way to resolve their issue. I mean I had read about this, so I knew was I was talking about.- However, the more mature I became and the closer I drew to God, He pointed out that all of my unsolicited "expertise" was mostly just to make myself feel valuable and important. I wanted people to know that I was smart and impress them by how much I knew about any particular topic. I slowly began to realize that I was stunting my wisdom growth by boasting my intelligence. The more I began to observe and listen, the more I learned that wisdom is truly something one doesn't need to verbally boast about. It's something people feel, see, notice about us. If I really wanted to help and serve people, they needed my compassion, a listening ear, and a helping hand rather than just statistic and facts.

No matter how many statistics or books someone has read on a subject, I'm learning that no one can truly understand anyone's situations, decisions, or problems fully. The older I get and the more I seek to have true wisdom, the more I realize I don't know. However, I have learned that empathy and compassion are sometimes far more important in certain situations that book knowledge. The reason I feel this is because I think as a society we focus on all of the information we accumulate on a specific topic, than each person that is affected by said topic.

 Real wisdom starts with love not knowledge. Because if we love before we learn, there's a true selflessness that comes to light. Instead of just learning a bunch of knowledge we can apply whenever it's profitable for us, we learn about the person that we now love.

For example, I can't begin to fathom the pain of losing a child or having to see my child suffer with a serious medical condition. While it's great to be able to give advice or tips, I truly believe that we must knowledge that fact that we will not understand exactly what people without really loving them first. Instead of listing off some bullet points we read in a facebook article "10 helpful tips for dealing with grief" or just immediately giving an opinion on how we would handle the situation, showing the person love is the most important... During my divorce and now as a single parent, I can't even begin to list off the countless amounts of unsolicited advice given to me. These people had all the facts and knew exactly what I needed to do. However, I never asked for their opinion in the first place. To be honest, a lot of the counsel I did seek was from people that weren't even knowledge in those areas. I didn't want to talk to someone who had "all the right answers"; I wanted someone who I knew truly loved and cared about me. I sought them out specifically because of that. And guess what, they didn't just ramble off facts they read in a book. Instead they just listened. They listened to me cry, get angry, be confused, and totally lost in regard on what I should do next. Finally, I noticed something very important about true wisdom. They began to ask questions. These people wanted to understand me and my personal situation. From there, they began to pray, read, and learn about various tactics/ways to help me.

I think we can all sense the difference in real wisdom vs being "smart". People that are wise might talk a lot or not much at all. They might be extremely booksmart or be intelligent in other areas (interpersonal, intrapersonal, socially, kinestically, logically, creatively). We are drawn to wisdom because we know it's grown with self-control and not self-promotion. I seriously just LOVE sensing that in people. Seth Megow is seriously not the wisest person, but I can honestly say that I'm growing in that area. I really believe that because I'm loving more & more the concept of humility. Hahahaha. Not saying I'm the most humble person (not be a long shot), but I'm noticing that humility is normally a major trait of people that possess wisdom.

So I guess this is just a challenge to myself. Love people before I learn. Accept that I don't know everything or understand every situation. Listen and ask questions. Finally, I want to make sure that I'm serving people with my knowledge and not using it to just serve myself. :)

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Seth

T-Shirts!!

For so long, I've had this little idea of a fun idea of a t-shirt for the blog. Finally about two months ago I decided it would be a good time to pull the trigger on the idea. I explained it to my kids and Stevie jumped all over it. She and I worked together drawing and designing the shirts. All of the artwork/design was done by us :D Then we contacted a local company who helped us get our design on fabric. They turned out great and the price was extremely reasonable. (Non-sponsored personal side note: Todd at Arrow Screenprinting was so kind and fun to work with. I highly recommend him.)

I explained to the kids that besides it being fun that other people will be actually wearing our family's artwork, it will also give them some spending money on our little family vacation this year. So we all chipped in (the kids did odd jobs and sold a few things to raise a little money) and bought the first round of shirts.

So without further ado, here's our new family/blog t-shirt. I am in love with how they turned out. They are so stinkin' cute and fun!

Stevie is SO SO PROUD of these shirts!! 

The shirts are $10 a piece. So far, I have sizes Adult Small-XXL available. I'm not going to set up a fancy online store or anything on the blog. I really don't like of my blog being a source of income (which is why I never will monetize or put ads here). However, I do think this is a neat way to show the kids how business works. They helped design the product, helped raise some money to print them, and now will help me sell them to again give them each a little spending money on our family vacation. That being said, if you are interested in purchasing a shirt, just shoot me a message through the blog facebook page or send me an email (sethmegow@gmail.com) & we can meet up somewhere with the shirt(s). Also if you don't live close to us, we could ship them to you for an extra $3 a piece. If you can't afford $10 for a shirt but would still like one, message me and let me know. I can work with you to get you one at cost :)

So again, just message me or shoot me an email (sethmegow@gmail.com) if you are interested.

Thanks for all of the support! My kids can't wait to sell you a shirt ;)Hahahaha

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Seth