Recently I did a three part series, answering questions I received on instagram (part 1, part 2, part 3). I had such a fun time answering the questions but received some questions directly pointed to David that I didn’t feel I should answer myself. So I put a call out to collect any questions you guys had for David, then sent them all his way. These are his answers, completely unedited (I just added pictures), so don’t hold them against me (wink).

Remember 7 years ago when I first started blogging and referred to him only as “hubs?” Wow, that was annoying! Sorry babe, all anonymity is gone now. Take it away!

What are your biggest challenges when it comes to balancing parenting and work?

Not enough time! But that seems like an obvious cop out. I think the key is to make priorities for both clearly understood, and it only gets really complex (aka frustrating) when those conflict. I try to make the big events for the girls like recitals, birthdays, holidays etc, but at times that gets more challenging if work demands my attention as well. A never ending balance I guess!

As a Dad to two little girls… which Disney Princess is your favorite?

5 years ago, I didn’t know that was a thing; Just the other day I could pick out the silhouettes on a book cover- I have come so far! My favorite is whichever the girls are pretending to be at the time, but when we went to Disney World and met them, Jasmine was the best by far!

With Brittany being a stay at home mom, do you help with any housework or chores?

You obviously noticed my delicate hands are not meant to be dirtied with those types of things.

Hahaha, Yes, of course!! With kids and a house to manage there is PLENTY of work to be done. Any time I can pitch in, I do, and Brittany does a ton as well. We work really well as a team – definitely one of our strong suits.

I would love to hear your side of how y’all met and fell in love!

We met in college at the UGA vs Ga Tech football game (a big in-state rivalry). She obviously spotted my rugged good looks and manliness (for a visual, picture George Clooney in Oceans 11) and couldn’t control herself. Ga Tech won.

(picture taken at UGA/GT football game in 2007, 4 years after we first met)

What is your favorite meal that Brittany cooks?

That is a tough one! She has improved what I eat drastically so I cant ignore the healthy foods…. But I am still a starch & meat type of guy and love lots of flavor. I would say Greek Gyros or Enchiladas top the list.

What do you find most challenging in a house full of females?

More pink than I thought possible. Actually, right now it is just Brittany and 2 kids…. I am in blissful denial about the day that they have hormones too and I am overrun in estrogen.

What are some ways that you carve out one on one time with your daughters?

This is on my 2017 resolution list!! My goal is to deliberately take each one for 1 on 1 time, getting ice cream, or grabbing dinner together. It’s easy to lump them together for everything as “the girls” but grabbing time separately is going to be important for them and me! Stay tuned to hear how it goes.

What do you worry about most when it comes to raising healthy, happy, and kind girls?

Specifically, the “healthy, happy & kind” should follow the example they see every day, so leading by example is my main goal. For raising them in general, I want the girls to have a broad perspective and think for themselves. Making sure they are exposed to different thoughts and cultures and learning to give back is big for me. When and how to do that is the more challenging question that I don’t think I have the perfect answer for yet, but hope we can start to integrate this more and more as the girls move past toddler into full blown kids!

What is it like being married to a blogger/social media influencer?

It is so foreign to my personality it is hilarious. But what you guys don’t see is the effort that she puts into the blog and social media. When I am up at 5:30 am, she has beaten me into the office to try to write and coordinate different things that I can’t quite understand. It is amazing to me that she has built this out of thin air and has the ability to connect with a large group of like-minded people.

What is it like being married to a Georgia bulldog?

Following a year in which GaTech won the football game- Fantastic!

(2008 a tough loss for us Bulldogs at Sanford)

What do you do for a living?

Work hard

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to raise their son to be smart, confident, and respectful to women? Maybe based on his own upbringing? (from a mom to boys)

Kudos on the goal! When H is 25, I look forward to meeting the young man to discuss the possibility of a chaperoned date. (She won’t date before that)

It definitely starts with leading by example, then being cognizant and deliberate to move them towards the goal should get you 99% of the way there.  I think kids raise themselves to the level of expectations you have for them (or push the boundary just under that!) so set the expectations high! I hope there are more folks who share your goal too.

Do you want to have any say in homeschooling? Teach a subject, help pick curriculum, etc?

I am very excited about starting to homeschool. I try to be sensitive to the fact that my schedule won’t allow me to take on much responsibility in this realm, but I certainly want to help as much as I can. We discuss almost all of the different aspects of it, but certainly I try to be sensitive to the fact that I won’t be the one implementing it, so I am more of a sounding board at this point.

How have you seen Brittany change/grow as a mom and wife over the past few years?

Pretty sure the definition of a parent is to change and grow! Brittany has done an amazing job of continuing to add to her schedule throughout the past 5 years with no sign of slowing down with homeschool on the horizon.

As a newlywed who is moving toward sharing finances with my husband, I’m curious to hear your thoughts on that aspect of the relationship. Any advice for a smooth transition to shared finances or how to have important financial conversations moving forward?

Finally, a question about finances for a numbers nerd like me! Ok, to spare you a 3 page dissertation, I will summarize. There are a lot of ways to do this, but through all of them, be COMPLETELY open and honest. (even with yourself) Do a budget. If your finances aren’t combined, at least combine the budget. Most people are uncomfortable discussing money, but be an adult and do it! Don’t hold things against each other (Did Brittany really get another one of those $15 juices that taste like grass?!?!?). I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey as a place to start for home finances too.

How did you experience the birth of your two sweet daughters?

It was a preview of what was to come. Messy, stressful, crazy, joyful and well worth it all rolled together. (Plus Brittany wouldn’t let me ask the hospital if I could smoke a cigar in the waiting area)

Is life with kids how you pictured it would be?

I have no idea what I did with all of my time pre-kids. I would say yes, but growing up as one of two boys, girls came at me out of left field!

Do you have any tips for living with a Type A person?  (Brittany that isn’t a dig at ALL!  I am just like you and love to plan and meal prep and make lists and at times I think it drives my man crazy!)

The best part about marriage is letting your partner be themselves and do their thing, not fitting them into your way of doing things. And I know better than to hide her meal planning notebook before a trip to the grocery store!

I have a question for you and David. How do you find balance as a family on the weekends? My husband works a lot, long hours and I stay home with my 15 months old and 3 1/2 year old and it is not easy. I always feel like I NEED to get out on the weekends because I have the kids all the time but I think I am not always fair as he works hard during the week too…Any tips would be appreciated as we can’t hire a babysitter and family is not helpful. Thanks!

Those are demanding ages! Nothing in the rule book says life is fair, you both work hard. Sometimes when you need to escape, you need to escape and he doesn’t get much of a weekend. Same goes for him though. Just talk through it. You two can at least give each other ½ day breaks on the weekend to unwind. What makes it tough with no babysitter/family option is that you two don’t get a date night. You need adult time – try to kid swap with a friend with kids the same age. Or put the kids down early and have a late night date in the backyard!

What are your favorite NC breweries?

For places to visit, we had a great date night at Heist. Also, I did a brewery tour in Asheville and loved Burial, Greenman and Hi-Wire. Just off the shelf, try Sweet Josie Brown Ale by Lonerider- its great!

How do you balance work with being home with the girls in the evenings? It seems you work a lot and I was just wondering how you feel about it?

Its definitely tough, compounded by the girls having an early bedtime at 7. I think everything is about trade offs, and while I work late at times, I don’t do much overnight travel which would be hard.

I would love to know what parts of blogging, if any, you dislike? Any pet peeves?

For someone who didn’t like to be in the family picture it is a different way of life, but not bad. Brittany has heard from some people who really appreciate what she is doing and that makes her light up (yall send her some email sometime, she reads it all).

The funny annoyance is being out on a date night and ordering a great meal, only once it arrives you have to sit and stare while your mouth waters and Brittany takes a picture of it. But it doesn’t actually bug me much.

On the flip side, what is the best aspect of being part of a blogged about family?

I think what I mentioned above about seeing Brittany enjoy the positive comments and email. But it is also pretty cool how you can connect across the globe from her website. I pull up her analytics (again, numbers nerd) and over the past 30 days she has had people from 191 countries go to her site. That’s nuts!!! Who are the 5 people from the Seychelles that found AHealthySlice?!?!? Can we crash at your place?

…………..

And I (Brittany) am back! I hope you guys enjoyed reading his answers.  It was fun for me to let him have his own voice on here for a minute since everything always comes from my perspective.

I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend, and if you are in the US, a very happy kick off to 4th of July! We have a swim meet this morning and plans dotting the rest of the weekend that involve swimming and friends. Loving this sweet summer time!

If you have any additional questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll have him swing through and answer them 🙂