3 Years Ago I Became A Dad

By this time 3 years ago I had already been a dad for over 3 hours. I was stressed, overwhelmed and full of emotion and I can happily say that after 3 years I still feel the same way. What's different today is that it's just part of life. Averie came into this world knowing what she wanted and she was going to do things on her terms. I asked God to grace me with an independent strong willed girl with a big personality who knows how to take of herself but be a daddy's girl at heart. He must have a sense of humor because that's what he gave me ten fold. Averie makes me laugh everyday. Her giggle and little voice brings a smile to my face and fills my heart with joy. Her sense of fashion is undeniable and her love for chips reassures me she is mine. She loves to watch TV, play outside and go on long walks with Louis and Lola. She always wants to help me with my projects and you can tell she always wants to learn. There is no denying that Averie is one of the best things to happen to me. She has helped me become less selfish and challenged me to slow down.

As Jacob is about to arrive in a week there is no doubt that he has a big sister who can't wait to meet him. Averie will teach him the ropes of manipulating us into getting what he wants. She has already informed me that he will be wearing pink dresses and will be getting his nails painted. Jen asked Averie the other day because she was running around screaming around the house, "Where is my sweet and innocent little baby?" Averie pointed to Jen's stomach and said, "In your belly!"

I hope that Jacob's sense of humor and personality is just as big as Averie's because even though it will lead to arguments and heated standoffs, they will also lead to great stories and reassurement that they will both be fine and be able to take care of themselves. I wish for Averie the happiest of birthdays. I love her so much and I can't wait to see what life has in store for her.

Does Road Rage and Changing Lanes Get You There Faster?

2 hours. 2.5 hours. 1 hour. 45 minutes. These are all times it has taken me to get to work. Why might you ask I don't work closer to my house? The thing is, I actually love what I do. Yes it is unfortunate that working in entertainment is mainly in LA, but the people and the place I work for are amazing. It would be less amazing if I had to be in rage everytime I got into my car and went to work.

You would think that driving in LA traffic all day that I would have awful road rage. That's quite the contrary. Other drivers exhibiting road rage merely make me laugh instead of making me furious. I give myself anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours to get to work everyday. Sometimes it takes less and sometimes it takes more. On the days when it takes more, I find that weaving back and forth between lanes is not getting me to work any faster. It just gives more opportunity for me to get into a car accident. Driving is certainly much less stressful when I am not rushing to get somewhere. Obviously there are days when I am rushing but I am still aware and not changing lanes. I would rather explain that I am late due to sitting in traffic than explaining I am late because I caused an accident or was in an accident.

ABC news did a special on this topic awhile back and I remember watching it and thinking, I always stay in the same lane but would changing lanes actually get me to work faster? I am kind of OCD about it but I have been told I drive like a grandpa and always stay in the same lane. They lanes have become "my lanes".  What ABC did was send two people out on the freeway at the same time. One person was going to stay in the fast lane and one was going to weave in between cars to get to their final destination. The study found that the person who weaved in and out pulled into the parking lot one minute before the other driver. ONLY 1 MINUTE! Yes they arrived first but by only one minute.

So is it really worth putting yourself and others in danger by racing to get to work on time or by yelling or flipping off a car who cut you off because you were trying to switch into their lane? NO. Drive safe.

Why Don't the Books Tell You The True Reality Of Having A Baby?

I have received a few questions since I have started this blog, including: Is butter a carb? Wallpaper vs. Contact paper? and the always debated question, Mac or PC? However, I figured the first question is something I have had on my mind these past few days...

There have been countless people giving us advice and stories on what life is going to be like when Jen was pregnant, when we had the baby and what life was going to be like after the baby was born. However, I don't think anyone could have prepared us for the reality of having our own child...listening to every breath she takes, looking at every bowl movement and wondering if it looks normal and watching every jerk of the head to see if she is having a seizure, or just being wobbly.

I was always one to function on little sleep. In fact, after Averie was born, the first night we got about 6 hours of sleep in a 72 hour period and I still felt amazing. But the second night was an entirely different story. Averie had a meltdown from 11pm - 6am.  The video below is her meltdown just after 430 in the morning.

I think that we could solve teen pregnancy if we told them and showed them videos of what life was like with a newborn on night #2. It made me really consider, am I fit to be a parent? She screamed and cried and ate all night and nothing worked. Only at 6 when the nurse suggested a supplement of formula did she finally quiet down. Jen breastfeeding and all was going well, but she was just so hungry.  They call this "cluster feeding". This was my (and Jen's) version of Hell! The experience on night #3 was not nearly half as bad as night #2 and it seemed so much easier because we got 5 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period as opposed to 6 hours of sleep in a 72 hour period. After those two nights I then began to think what life would be like when we get home and we didn't have that nurse call button to take care of her at night. 

We left the hospital on our fourth day and we could have stayed an extra day but we were itching to try to adjust to the real world. The first event of of the real world was going to be to introduce the dogs to their sister. I had it all planned out in my head how we were going to introduce them to her. I brought home blankets that entire week so that the dogs would begin to recognize her smell. They rolled in the blankets and began to be obsessed with them like they had discovered gold. Once it was time to introduce them to her, it didn't go as I had planned. They began to be obsessed with her and wanted to jump on her and lick her but not in a good way. I had to hold them back so they wouldn't be obsessively licking.  It wasn't like they were going to hurt her but they would smother her if they had the opportunity. The great thing about this though is that Averie didn't care one bit. The dogs didn't even phase her.

Another funny thing to note is that Lola became VERY PROTECTIVE of Averie. She was guarding every little move she made and if Copper (my mother-in-laws dog) got near her, she would bark.

"Nana" Margie, Averie and her guardian Lola

Lola at her post making sure Averie didn't make a sound.

Lola guarding Averie in her swing.

The first day and night at home with Averie was miserable. Jen had to adjust from having a medical bed that moved to any height and angle she wanted to a soft couch, a bed that was too high and the risk of dogs jumping up on her at any given moment and rupturing her c-section incision. It was very stressful and the dogs became very nervous and anxious, even though we were trying to make it normal for them. Averie would cry and the dogs would freak and we would have to go in another room so that we could feed her and the dogs didn't know what to do. To add to that, to sleep at night, the dogs which have slept with us in our beds for that past 4 years now had to sleep in the room with mother-in-law so that they wouldn't jump on Jen. Jen and I decided to camp in our living room with Averie in her bassinet so that we could hear every noise and breath she made to make sure she was okay.

 Our campsite

The books and people never mentioned how nervous you are those first few nights while you are alone with your new child. It is very torturous on your body and emotions. At the doctors office today for Averie's appointment they told us that babies are more resilient then we think. I would have to agree with them because I was so nervous at every gasp thinking she was choking on her own saliva that I would wake up in a panic. The first night we got no sleep. I ended up picking her up half the night and just had her sleep on my chest so that way I knew if she was choking or not. 

Averie and I with her protectors.

The second night at home was much better for Jen, Averie and I and today was even better than yesterday. We got Averie on somewhat of a schedule and it seems to be working for now.

So why don't the books tell you the true reality of having a baby? Because if they did, people may reconsider if they were strong enough to handle having a child. But after all is said and done, I look forward to those difficult days when I get no sleep and to when Averie and I can have a conversation and disagreements. I love her so much already and look forward to an eternity with her and Jen. 

The reason people don't tell you the true reality of having a baby is because there are so many more amazing and happy stories about the richness kids bring to your life that these small annoyances and troubles go right out the window when you think of how much you love them.

Why Ask Jerome?

So WHY ASK JEROME? I say, WHY NOT?


I am not an electrician, a carpenter, a gardener, a housekeeper, a chef, a dog walker or a mechanic. I am just an average guy who enjoys a challenge and loves to learn about my capabilities. My daughter's due date is tomorrow and I want her to grow up learning to be an independent woman who can conquer and work towards anything she puts her mind too. I don't want her to take no for an answer and I hope that she can come to me whenever she needs help. In order to do that, I have begun to teach myself how to do things around the house. 


Before I owned a house, I took it for granted that my dad would always do things for me. If I picked up the phone to ask him to do anything, I know that he would be over in 10 minutes, but I needed to learn to do things for myself. I never really paid attention when I had to change the oil in my car and I knew how to build something but never measured twice. My how things have changed. I have owned our house for 5 1/2 years and all I can say is thank goodness for Google and YouTube because I can find anything I need to learn right online. Sure I still ask my dad questions and when my father in law was alive, he was a walking textbook for cars, I would call him all the time asking about my truck. He had never even worked on my car but knew every detail about it.  I want to be that guy for my daughter and have the answers to any question she may have. If I don't know the answer or know how to do something, I will blog about it and share with everyone else. 


This blog is to talk about my journey of becoming a dad and all of the joys and hardships I have been told that being a dad entails, also to talk about normal life and everything that doesn't stop, just because a child is born. I want to talk about creating a garden for organic homemade baby food, building playhouses, cooking Sunday dinners for mom, cleaning the house while she sleeps in the baby bjorn and washing the dogs on saturday mornings. 


This is a continuation of Sundays with Jerome that I would post on our family's blog. I am not good about keeping up with the blog but I will try to be more conscience and blog every week. Check back for updates and if you have any questions you would like me to answer, let me know. Thanks to Jenneane, Bryon and Sara for inspiring me to start this.