Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

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My Son Wore A “Dad Is My Hero” Shirt With A Pink Poodle Costume

February 9, 2014 at 12:42 pm , by 

3 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

Yesterday Mommy and I took you toShipwrecked, your favorite indoor playground, to hang out with your best friend Sophie on such a snowy Saturday morning.

As usual, you drove around the Lightning McQueen pedal car like a grumpy old man; cutting through the paths of other happy kids.

I stood in the middle of the place, keeping an eye on you from afar.

There you were, collecting random toy “relics” in the back of your car. (Reference to The Lego Movie we saw yesterday.)

It was hilarious to me: You didn’t speak to, or even smile at, any of the other kids as you drove through their neighborhood of the playground to pick up a few random toys… like a pink toaster.

One older girl handed you a plastic banana; which you promptly accepted as if it were simply understood as business as usual.

You even swooped by the giant dollhouse to snatch the tiny potty.

And then, you visited the costume room, to pick up your rarest find: a pink poodle costume, the one Sophie wore when you were Barney the dinosaur.

I didn’t think much of it; I just figured it was part of your collection.

So it caught me off guard when you pulled up to me, stopped the car, and started putting on the pink poodle costume backwards.

All with a stoic look on your face and speaking no words.

Naturally, I didn’t want you to feel embarassed, so I helped you put on the pink poodle costume the right way.

But then I realized you were a bit too tall for it.

So you ended up wearing it like a hoodie for about 20 seconds; before you decided to take it off and start chasing down Sophie in a vintage 1970′s car chase.

(More on that in an upcoming letter.)

So, I will close by pointing out an observation that I find… pretty interesting.

You wore a pink poodle costume while also wearing a “Dad is my hero” shirt.

I would like an explanation here.

I’m sure there’s an interesting psychological explanation in there somewhere. Hmm.

How is your relationship with your father?…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

 

 

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2 Comments Posted on movie reviews, parenting

The Lego Movie: My Son’s First Time To A Movie Theatre

February 9, 2014 at 9:03 am , by 

3 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

Three months ago, I wrote you a letter entitled, “Do You Want To Go See The Lego Movie With Me, Son?”

In it, I proclaimed to you that if I hadn’t yet taken you to the movie theatre for the first time by February, that I would take you to see The Lego Movie.

Well, that’s exactly what happened.

I’m going to go ahead and say something that may sound melodramatic, but I mean it with all of my heart:

Taking you to go see your first movie in a theatre is officially one of the top highlights for me as a parent.

It was very special to me.

Again, this part may sound overly emotional as well, but here’s how I feel.

Despite being the one to drive you to and from school each day, for a round trip of over an hour a day, I feel a little bit starved for quality time with you.

Mommy gets bath and bedtime duty most nights, as I take care of the dishes.

It’s really important to me that you and I see it as a normal thing to hang out together… just as boys.

The dynamics are so much different when it’s just you and me.

You see Mommy as the main emotional provider; and I totally get why you are so clingy with her.

By no means do I envy that part of your relationship with her.

However, I do deem it extremely important for us to be close, as father and son… in our own ways.

And watching a “guy’s movie” together was a perfect way to do it.

(Mommy gladly went shopping while we were at the movies.)

I was so impressed with The Lego Movie!

A quick Google search of “Lego Movie reviews” shows that everyone agrees this is a solid, creative, stand-alone movie.

By no means was it simply a 90 minute Lego commercial.

Instead, it was a movie about the importance of owning your individual creativity and questioning the norms of society; that “being normal” might be a sign your living life by the (Lego) instructions.

I’m so glad I got to be there for you to see your first movie in a theatre.

Not to mention, I’m also very relieved that it was actually a really good, meaningful, and yet hilarious movie.

And, I hear there’s a sequel in the works…

Needless to say, the moment we got home, you asked me to build a spaceship like the one in the movie.

You played with it before dinner, during dinner, after dinner, during bath, and to bed.

Priceless.

 

Love,

Daddy

Have a movie night with your kiddo with one of these 50 great movies for kids.

Leave a comment Posted on food reviews, parenting, vegan

Photobombed By My Own Kid

February 8, 2014 at 11:31 pm , by 

3 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

Look at this picture… You totally photobombed me!

“Photobombing is the act of inserting oneself into the field of view of a photograph, often in order to play a practical joke on the photographer or the subjects.” –Wikipedia

I am pretty sure you were being sneaky; totally knowing what you were doing.

Here lately, I have been posting pictures of our “plant-based meals” on Facebook, as my way of showing the outside world what we eat.

Because, hey, I was always curious what vegans ate before I came one.

It’s by no means intended as a way to “convert” anyone to my lifestyle. I do it more as a way for people who are already curious and open-minded to learn more.

I’ve had several Facebook friends tell me that they enjoy and appreciate the insight I give them on this kind of stuff. That’s who it’s intended for.

Granted, I do this also expecting some funny comments from any Facebook friends who might be… how should I put it?…

Skeptics.

Like when I posted a picture which half-jokingly referred to myself as a “lentil and potatoes” kind of guy. (As opposed to a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy.)

I actually consider it bonus points when I can get friends and family to say “GROSS!” or say something like, “That looks good, but sure would be better with some bacon!”

I get it that our family eats from a different menu than the mainsteam, but instead of keeping quiet about it as to not offend those who are not curious, I like to sort of memethe situation.

In a way, my goal is to invite the skeptics to laugh with me (about my seemingly obscure food choices); as I try not to appear like I’m wanting to impose my beliefs on the mainstream.

Because, again, in reality, it’s the curious minority of society who I actually am trying to reach, not the majority.

So somehow the supreme irony in all this is that you, my son, have actually photobombed my Internet meme!

I ended up not even using that picture for my “project” after I realized what you did.

Actually, I can’t look at you smiling so proudly in that picture without laughing quietly to myself.

Good job, Son. Well done.

That’s okay…

I got even with you by making a captioned photo of yourchocolate almond milkmustache.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Comments Posted on food reviews, Health, parenting, vegan

No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls… Jealous Much?

February 7, 2014 at 9:56 pm , by 

3 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

I think I might be over cakes, cupcakes, and cookies, now that Mommy has introduced our family to “no-bake vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls.”

She found them on a website called, Gluten-Free-Vegan-Girl, which is apparently orchestrated by an 18 year-old girl from Norway.

(That’s the country where your great-grandfather on Mommy’s side was adopted from, by the way.)

So, it’s official: These no-bake vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls are awesome!

Not only are they pretty easy to make, considering you don’t even cook them, but they taste so good that they are extremely addictive.

However, the ingredients are healthy and simple:

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 3/4 cup dates
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • a pinch of maldon salt
  • 1/4 cup chopped 70+% dark vegan chocolate (or use vegan chocolate chips)

So I kind of think these might be our new family favorite treat.

They’re mainly sweetened from the dates and “fattened” by the cashews; which provide less than 1% of the daily recommended amount of cholesterol.

Remember my theory on consuming more than 0% but less than 1% cholesterol?

“Being a vegan means your cholesterol intake is more than 0% (from good fats, like avocados, cashews, coconuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, etc.) but less than 1% (because of no animal fats). I think part of the reason vegans feel so much better after nixing animals products is because they are no longer experiencing another living (at one time) animal’s cholesterol and fat running through their veins.”

Like most food that Mommy and I approve of for our family, these no-bake vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls are better when made by us… not bought pre-made and packaged from a store.

Having a fun (and delicious!) recipe like this makes it even more fun and special to be a plant-based family. Like I’ve said before, it’s not about what we can’t eat, but about what we can!

We get to enjoy this secret dessert snack recipe that hardly anybody else knows about. It’s not the kind of thing a person would normally think to make or eat, but when you rule out animal products from your diet, you (are forced to) discover new foods that you actually like better than what you were eating before.

I’m contrasting this recipe against any token grocery store cake, or boxed cake mix, made with food dye from petroleum and/or bugs, along with a whole paragraph of unpronounceable ingredients.

Yeah, that’s not food.

This is!

I’ll take no-bake vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls anyday! But, shhhh… we’re adopting them as a secret family recipe now- thanks to an 18 year-old girl in Norway named Solveig Berg Vollan!

 

 

Love,

Daddy

 

P.S. Click right here for the full recipe featured on Gluten-Free-Vegan-Girl!

Or check out other vegan recipe reviews I have written

Leave a comment Posted on marriage, parenting

Shared Memories Are Like A Time Machine

February 7, 2014 at 8:23 pm , by 

3 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

I have a theory.

It’s sort of like the one that asks, “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?”

My theory is that if you’re the only one in this world who witnessed and experienced an event, or at least the only one who still remembers it, then in essence, that event only happened because you remember it happening.

For example, I remember when I was in 3rd grade, in 1990, giving my teacher Mrs. Lawrence a Kudos bar (a chocolate covered granola bar) after I had already taken it out of the wrapper and placed it inside my cold metal desk.

I had just played a prank on Ferne Taylor, the girl next to me; where I pretended like I was going to give her my Kudos bar. In reality, it was just an empty wrapper.

After I performed the joke, I offered the chocolate covered granola bar to Mrs. Lawrence instead. (Why didn’t I give it to Ferne?)

I still remember the confused look on my teacher’s face, as she politely turned down my offer of a naked granola bar that was sitting in my desk.

The very next day I made it up by giving Mrs. Lawrence a Kudos bar, but this time, it was fully enclosed in the wrapper. (Again, what about Ferne?)

Now, that may seem like a random story, and it is…

But I’m sure that if Mrs. Lawrence or Ferne Taylor happened to read this story on Facebook, there’s a good chance they would have no memory of this event happening whatsoever.

In other words, this story only happened because I clearly remember it happening. I keep it alive with me; especially if and when I share this seemingly uneventful story.

Similarly, if a group of people remember the same memories, good or bad or neutral, they can exclusively travel in time to a different time and place.

A DeLorean would be convenient… and really cool. However, that’s not how time travel works.

Those random memories in our minds are the bookmarks in time that, in a way, help us instantly revisit those times and places anytime we want.

And that brings me to us: our family.

Our family of three will make, share, and revisit all kinds of warm and fuzzy memories for the rest of our lives.

The stories we will reminisce about may not seem special or funny or even that interesting to anyone else. But for us, we will be travelling back in time, because shared memories are like a time machine.

What we remember becomes our reality. We are creating our own shared reality each day.

That’s what these letters to you are all about.

I am attempting to expand our collection of family memories, so as we all get older, the three of us will have more places to “travel in time.”

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Photo: Diana Taub Photography.