Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

My Kid’s First True Need For Band-Aids

April 14, 2014 at 10:06 pm , by 

3 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

While you’ve been enjoying the splendor of Band-Aids for quite a while now, or as you refer to them, “tattoos,” it wasn’t truly until this past weekend that you really needed them.

Saturday morning we were helping our next door neighbor Rachel move her elliptical to the other side of the neighborhood, where the community yard sale was going on.

(Fortunately, the thing had wheels on the bottom.)

On the walk back to our house, you were running ahead of me on the sidewalk, in flip-flops.

Granted, I did indeed yell out to you, “Jack, slow down! Let me catch up to you.”

It was precisely 5 seconds later that you fell down, scraping your elbows and knees.

There really wasn’t much blood at all, but it was enough to scare you.

After all, you’ve never really fallen down and gotten hurt before. And that’s pretty amazing, actually!

I can’t believe that you made it until nearly age 3 and a half before your first real accidental injury. Had you not been wearing flip-flops, I doubt it would have even happened.

You’re a boy. You’re supposed to get cut up and bruised on a fairly regular basis, right? That’s how I remember it, first hand in the 1980s.

I find it interesting that you typically remain so unscathed…

Makes me wonder if there’s any way I’m a helicopter parent who is in denial? I try to give you all the practical freedom that a modern day American dad can give his son.

Or maybe you’re just now getting to the age where you can really start getting into trouble?

While I hate to see you get hurt, there is definitely a part of me that is proud to see you growing up, like a little boy should- with scraped elbows and knees.

And well-earned Mater Band-Aids.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on funny, Nostalgia, parenting

My “Only Child” And His “Pretend Friends”

April 14, 2014 at 9:44 pm , by 

3 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Something I’ve heard grown “only children” tell me about their own childhood is that they always had “pretend friends”. I am seeing that concept in action every day with you.

At the grocery store, in the car, at school, at church..

You have three favorites: “Ellie” the purple elephant, featured in The Nose Book, from the $5 section at Kohl’s; “Cheetie” the blue cheetah from the discount rack at Kroger; and “Panda” the red panda you created at Build-A-Bear for your 3rd birthday.

This past week the three of them were anointed as VIPs when you provided them their own t-shirts, to make them more like real friends.

I should point out that two of those shirts are actually mine from circa 1983, but hey, I don’t mind.

One of my favorite parts about your pretend friends is how you call out to them throughout the day, not speaking to them further until they answer you.

And by “they,” I mean Mommy or myself.

By default, I have learned that I provide the voice for Panda and Cheetie, because apparently they’re boys, while Mommy is the voice for Ellie because she’s a girl.

However, you call out to Ellie (the girl) far more than you do Panda and Cheetie (the boys).

What’s funny is that the voices Mommy provides for the female friends are in falsetto, so you have difficulty figuring out whether it’s really Mommy responding… because at least half the time it’s actually me, trying to trick you.

“Hey Ellie?” you call out to the next room.

“Yes?” I reply, in a falsetto that sounds pretty much identical to Mommy’s.

“No, Daddy! You’re not a girl!” you always explain.

Yet, sometimes, even when Mommy answers you in her “Ellie” voice, you still wait for me to try to “trick” you just so you can reprimand me.

Your three friends have been so good to you, that Mommy recently had to run them through the washing machine, then set them out in the sun to dry.

(Mommy and I explained that your friends have to take baths just like you do.)

I think it’s fun that you have three pretend friends that wear my old t-shirts from when I was your age.

At least I can see your friends… so much better than imaginary friends.

We keep asking you if you want a brother or sister, but you insist on a  real dog instead.

Eh… I think we’re better off with a purple elephant, a blue cheetah, and a red panda… all of which wear t-shirts. Plus, I don’t have to feed these animals like I would a real dog.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on food reviews, parenting, vegan

Dad’s Recipe Review Of “Simple Raw Vegan Brownies With Icing”

April 13, 2014 at 10:14 pm , by 

3 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

As I recently learned in The Top 10 Dadabase Posts Of All Time: 4 Years And Counting, non-vegans out there are depending on us plant-based familes to be the Guinea pigs to test out new recipes to share with them.

So now that I know the most popular Dadabase post I’ve ever written in the past 4 years was No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls… Jealous Much?, which was only written just two months ago, I figured I need to be clever enough to do a sequel.

So here it is…  my review of “Simple Raw Vegan Brownies with Icing” by Solveig Berg Vollan; which is featured in her blog, Gluten-Free-Vegan-Girl.

Like her other recipe, the prep time is quick (about 15 minutes or so) and the ingredients are few. Here are the ingredients for “Simple Raw Vegan Brownies with Icing“:

  • 2 cups raw walnuts
  • 2 cups pitted dates
  • 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
  • 6 tbsp raw almond butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a pinch of salt

I just told Mommy, after discovering Gluten-Free-Vegan-Girl‘s no bake recipes, I don’t even miss baked goods- and definitely not ones that contain dairy and eggs.

Needless to say, you and your chocolate mouth agree, as you can see from these pictures. You even got the first taste, as you stuck your finger in like Little Jack Horner.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this awesome and delicious recipe is that in addition to containing no animal products or gluten, nor does it require any baking… the recipe also contains no added sugar!

But you would neverknow it.

In fact, I didn’t realize that until just now. I actually had to ask Mommy to make sure I wasn’t reading that wrong.

I’m serious. Between this and the No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, I’m all set when it comes to sweet treats.

As a plant-based kid getting to enjoy wonderful recipes like these, I really don’t think anyone can feel sorry for you.

When it comes to desserts, you are in vegan Guinea pig heaven!

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, reviews

The Top 10 Dadabase Posts Of All Time: 4 Years And Counting

April 13, 2014 at 12:07 am , by 

3 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

As of today, I have been doing this for exactly 4 years. That’s right- I’ve been writing to you, or at least about you, since April 13, 2010; which was 7 months before you were even born.

Here’s an explanation as featured in the About Mesection:

“Back in April 2010, I decided I wanted to set a world record for the longest-running daddy blog in the world, beginning with the day the parents-to-be went public with the news they were expecting a baby. Nearly a thousand blog posts later, I write a new one nearly every day.”

Sure, it takes discipline and creativity to write a fatherly post 25 times each month (this is my 955th over all), but it’s one of the things in this life I do best.

Even then, my best isn’t always great. In the past 4 years, I have definitely written things I would later, and still do, regret. At the same time, those “regretful” moments also have served as important milestones in my maturity as your daddy, as well as a writer.

On the other extreme, I think it’s interesting to see what the most interesting things I’ve written to you are about. While my Top 10 Dadabase posts are definitely not my personal Top 10 favorites, the free market has decided otherwise, and I absolutely appreciate their opinion and input.

Just for the record, I have still yet to officially “break the 4th wall” and admit to you that these letters are seen by anyone other than you and me; today is as close as it gets for now. (It’s sort of like how on the TV show, The Office, they never really acknowledged the camera crew or the fact there were making a documentary until the final season.)

So to celebrate 4 years and running, 3 of them being on Parents.com, I now take a look at how my fatherly perspective most resonates with the general public:

#1: No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls… Jealous Much? (February 7, 2014/16 Facebook “likes”)

#2: The Half-Abortion: Only Keeping One Twin (August 14, 2011/2,900 Facebook “likes”)

#3: 5 Token Signs Of Millennial (Or Generation Y) Parents (December 2, 2012/44 Facebook “likes”)

#4: A Slap In The Face: Child Abuse Or Child Discipline (June 10, 2012/329 Facebook “likes”)

#5: Is “Natural” Vanilla Flavoring Really From Beavers…? (February 12, 2012/2,700 Facebook “likes”)

#6: 5 Pointers To Help Avoid Food With Fillers (December 20, 2012/13 Facebook “likes”)

#7: 5 Impractical Ways To Save Your Family Money in 2013 (January 2, 2013/13 Facebook “likes”)

#8: Kama Sutra For Parents Of Young Children (February 14, 2012/1,000 Facebook “likes”)

#9: 7 Tips For Planning A 1 Year-Old’s Birthday Party (December 2, 2011/10 Facebook “likes”)

#10: The Amazing Photo Of Alicia Atkins’ Baby Reaching From The Womb (January 3, 2013/106 Facebook “likes”)

To my surprise, my review of the recipe for “No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls” is by far the most popular thing I’ve ever written. I only wrote it 2 months ago, yet it has now nearly doubled the number of views of the #2 most popular most, which was published nearly 3 years ago.

So I guess I need to review more vegan recipes?

Over all, just glancing at which ones made the Top 10 list, it appears I am most interesting and relevant when I am talking about our vegan (“plant-based”) lifestyle, morality issues, identifying as Generation Y parents, questioning the traditional norms of child discipline, being “cheap” parents, poking fun at the realities of trying to sleep as a parent, planning a child’s birthday party, and spotlighting cool news stories about parenting.

(Plus, putting numbers in the title, like “The Top 10 Dadabase Posts Of All Time: 4 Years And Counting”, seems to help too.)

I’ll try to keep these things in mind as I continue writing my thoughts as a dad in these “private” daily letters to you.

Four years down… the rest of our lives to go!

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

The Relevant Rise Of Bronies: Neo-Masculinity

April 12, 2014 at 10:38 pm , by 

3 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack, I felt it was my duty to try to understand the “bronies” movement. All I knew is that there are apparently young men (typically ages 18 to 35) who arelegitimate fans of the kids’ TV show, “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.” “Bro’s” and “ponies” equals “bronies.” The thing that makes bronies so interesting is that… (I’m trying to think of an appropriate, inoffensive, non-judgmental, politically correct, social media friendly way to say it)… They’re not of any particular demographic; especially not the one that most people might assume. In fact, according to this brony survey (page 7), 70% of bronies… (How can I again safely and appropriately say this?) … 70% of bronies like girls. Most bronies, other than liking a TV show that was intended for little girls, are not necessarily otherwise into “countercultural” things. I learned this when I saw the documentary “Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans Of My Little Pony” on Netflix. As I watched the documentary, seeing the bronies made me think of Star Wars fans, or Star Trek fans, or comic book fans.

From what I can see, bronies are pretty much just regular dudes who happen to really appreciate the acceptance of all people, as well as love and good morals… lessons I remember from the 1980s animated version of The Smurfs. (Though most male fans of the show are older, there are younger male fans as well. Just recently, the story of 9 year-old Grayson Bruce went viral, when his mom claimed that school officials banned his brony backpack because it was a trigger for bullying.) Again, I felt it was my duty, as the dad of a son who for all I know may be interested in being a brony one day, to check out “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” for myself. So I watched the first episode. And it wasn’t really my thing. However, I think I can personally relate to where bronies are coming from… I remember in high school thinking how it would be cool in a nostalgic way to put a rainbow sticker on the back window of my Bronco II. Simply because rainbows are happy and make me think of the 1980s… like the famous PBS painter Bob Ross and his “happy little clouds.” But then I realized that’s not how it would be perceived by most people. I didn’t want to have to keep explaining myself over and over what the rainbow simply meant to me personally, so I decided to the leave the rainbow alone. Instead, when I graduated 15 years ago in 1999, I walked the stage in my yellow Saucony Jazz running shoes, which I happen to still own and even wore today to the Vanderbilt scrimmage football game. Those shoes are, in a way, my version of a rainbow sticker. They were my way of personally “disidentifying” with the extremes of American masculinity, as a man. Still today, if I were forced to choose between identifying as a butch or a femme to decribe myself, which I feelis the way the mainstream media portrays men in the polarized society I believe we live in, I would choose neither: I would chose brony. I would choose to be the male protagonist of the Nicholas Sparks book. I would choose to be Jim Halpert from The Office. Or Peeta from The Hunger Games. In other words, I embrace neo-masculinity. It’s a natural and relevant combination of being both sensitive and masculine, which is what I know I have to be, as an active and involved father to you and husband to Mommy. I like the way Lauren Faust, the developer of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, stated this concept in the documentary Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans Of My Little Pony:

“We need to allow men to be sensitive and to care about one another and not call them weak for caring.”

Okay then. I’ve done the homework. I don’t fear you becoming a brony one day. I understand and appreciate what they represent. Until then, I’ll continue teaching you why Captain America is actually the coolest. Love, Daddy