This is the photo of a man who has put in some serious Daddy time in the past two days. It is also a photo of a man who is lovingly humoring his picture happy wife in glaring sunlight and trying desperately to keep his eyes open to give her a good shot. Hence the wink.

The morning after Chris got home he had a few in-processing meetings to attend and so he was up and out the door before the kids woke up. Maggie crawled into bed with me about an hour later and demanded, “Where’s Daddy.” I told her that he had to go into work and she got the most exasperated expression on her face and said, “ALREADY!!!!!”

I explained that it was only for a few hours and that he would be back very soon, but she was still very displeased. She spent the remainder of the day pretty much all over him until he bought her a long-promised pink scooter and helmet; then she just expected him to chase her up and down the sidewalk within talking distance.

That night we all went out to eat and run a quick errand at Target. While shopping Maggie needed to use the restroom, so Chris dutifully took her so I could finish up. Jonas and I shopped for a few more minutes and then checked out. We waited. . .and waited until finally out of the restroom area they came. Apparently Maggie had run into the ladies room and Chris was left standing outside the door. Maggie is going through a phase now where she would prefer having someone else come do the dirty business of wiping, and so when she finished she started calling for her daddy. He called into the restroom and told her to wipe herself (she is very capable of this) but she refused, and so they sat in a stalemate, one refusing to leave the potty and one forbidden from entrance.

They both waited a long time, and the longer the wait, the more impatient and insistent Maggie became. When Chris asked her why she didn’t just do it herself she answered, “because I might get poop on my hands just like I told Mommy!” That has been the usual reasoning to which I always counter with the nearby sink and the fact that she will need to wash up anyway. If you try to be cheeky about it and ask her about the potential poop on your hands situation, she doesn’t care. That poop will be your problem. You can’t win.

Finally, a woman who had gone into the bathroom during all of this slipped out and said to Chris, “I think she needs you.” They had been at this for over fifteen minutes. Chris sucked it up, checked for witnesses, and bravely went where so few men have gone before, all to wipe a stubborn bummy.

That, my friends, takes a real man.

There’s a new online organizer in town called Cozi! It syncs with your phone and includes great features to keep you on task and on top like a family calendar, list-maker (I live off lists), reminder feature, and even a place for a family journal and photos! I was asked to let people know about this new, FREE service, so I’m passing it along! We can all use a free organizational kick in the pants, even if you aren’t nesting like a deranged sandpiper like yours-truly.

You can check it out here at Cozi.com. If you sign up before Feb 4th you are entered to win a home organization makeover with Laura Leist of Eliminate Chaos. I know I could use that!