Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

For The 1st Time, Getting A Babysitter For My 2 Year-Old

April 20, 2013 at 7:23 pm , by 

2 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

Sharing a birthday with Adolf Hitler typically means I expect bad things to happen on or around April 20th: The Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine school shooting, and this week, the Boston Marathon bombing.

Today on my 32nd birthday, I find comfort in knowing that both of the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing were caught and captured.

On the lighter side of things, for my birthday today… I’m trying to think of a… more masculine… way to say it…

Mommy took me on a much needed clothes shopping spree!

Half the clothes in my closet were from before I met Mommy in 2006, while the other half were bought nearly 5 years ago when we got married. A lot of my clothes are either worn out, out of style, or simply sloppy and baggy.

I let Mommy be my guide, picking out what looks good on me, not what I think looks good on me. Left to my own demise, I would end up picking out clothes that were all blue, and of course, baggy and sloppy.

As for you, some friends from our church watched you in their home. This marks the first time ever in your 2 years and 5 months of existence that we’ve had anyone other than family watch you while you were awake.

Needless to say, it went very well. They sent me the picture above while were Mommy and I were at Old Navy.

Granted, you were pretty psyched about the whole event to begin with. You could barely contain yourself as we unbuckled you from your car seat to take you into their home:

“Hi Nelda, look: I brought my purple truck!”

By the time we picked you up about 2 and a half hours later, we found you kicked back on the recliner with Stan, Nelda’s husband, watching the NASCAR race.

So I would say your first babysitting experience by a non-family member, while you were awake, went quite well.

As a treat for you, we brought you home some Thomas the Train “big boy” underwear.

Hint, hint… don’t you want to start going potty so you can wear them the right way, instead of on your head?

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, reviews, Storytelling

The Daddy Diaper Bag: Okiedog Review

April 20, 2013 at 6:04 am , by 

2 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

Thursday morning as we pulled out of the neighborhood, you asked me:

“What’s that sound, Daddy?”

Minutes later, a man in a pick-up truck next to me motioned to my back tire. Fortunately, we happened to be very close to a WalMart, where we learned my tire had a big silver nail in it and that the tire would have to be replaced.

For months now, I have meaning to get my own diaper bag to keep in my car for you.

Given that you and I spend at least 7 hours a week together in my car, it makes sense that I should have a “daddy diaper bag” to remain with me wherever I am with you.

Interestingly enough, Thursday morning happened to be the morning I placed my new daddy diaper bag in my car, in the seat next to you. Then minutes later, the flat tire situation happened.

So during the 2 and a half hour event, I had books, toys, snacks, and of course, diapers for you; right there all in one place. It’s strange to think that before this week, I didn’t even carry diapers with me in my car!

But now, we’re all set. And not only do I have a daddy diaper bag, I actually have a really nice, trendy one from OkieDog.

I noticed that the particular bag I chose, the Urban Sphinx, is specifically designed for a man. Just like the way a man compartmentalizes his thoughts in a very cut-and-dry manner, the bag is evidently designed this way too.

The bag actually reminds me of my car itself, a Honda Element, in that it is simple, practical, efficient, and very low-maintenance.

Those are all adjectives that, as a man, are important to me in describing things I own.

Like a Honda Element, my daddy diaper bag contains no cloth or fabric, making it very easy to clean.

It has a plastic carabiner-type device on a key ring behind the main flap, making it very easy to find my keys. (That’s why I hate Mommy’s purse… I always have to dig around for her keys!)

Something else that made me smile about my daddy diaper bag is that it comes with a couple smaller zippered bags; perfect for wet wipes or snacks.

I like how nothing about it is hidden: All the pockets and compartments are easily visible and obtainable. (I am assuming it was designed by a man because everything about it speaks to me in my language?)

In other words, nothing about it reminds me of a purse, like our other diaper bag.

Son, this is our masculine diaper bag. It has already experienced its first adventure with the two of us.

Here’s to many more father and son adventures! Hopefully, they won’t involve me buying a new tire for my car…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Attention Dadabase Readers: Here’s a coupon code that gives you a 10% discount on orders from the okiedog.com site: 2296.  

It will be good through the end of May 2013. Also, Okiedog will soon be offering free shipping on all products to Amazon Prime members.

2 Comments Posted on parenting, Spirituality

Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s “Abortions” of Live Babies

April 19, 2013 at 6:02 am , by 

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting, Spirituality

Look For The Helpers, Like White Blood Cells Attacking A Virus

April 15, 2013 at 9:42 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Today is a difficult day for Americans.

During the Boston Marathon, two bombs exploded in the midst of the crowd at the finish line. Three people were killed, several people lost limbs, and more than 100 were injured is what is assumed to be an act of terror.

It’s easy to ask questions like why or how could something like this happen.

As I’ve watched my Facebook friends react to this tragedy, there are two specific quotes I am watching go viral. The first is from Mr. Rogers:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

The second is from one of my favorite stand-up comedians, Patton Oswalt, which he posted as his Facebook status:

“If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out… This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation…

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, ‘The good outnumber you, and we always will.’”

While my heart is heavy as I think about and pray for all those affected by this tragedy, I strangely find comfort in the words and wisdom of both a children’s television host and a stand-up comedian:

Look for the helpers… like white blood cells attacking a virus.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 Photo: Getty Images.

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

To Love And To Lead Is To Serve: No Thank You’s Required

April 13, 2013 at 9:18 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

It was three years ago today (April 13, 2010) that I announced Mommy and I were having a baby when I wrote my very first daddy blog post, called “She’s Having A Baby.”

For the past three years, I have written to you at least once a week, but usually at least 6 days a week.

Not only have you changed a lot, so have I; both of us for the better.

As I have watched you transform from a “baked potato” of a baby into a monster truck loving little boy, I think about how specifically I have been forced to change and mature as a person.

Here’s the answer: I have learned to love and lead better as a dad; and therefore, I have learned toserve better.

Specifically, I have learned to stop expecting to be thanked or acknowledged for the sacrifices it takes to be an involved parent.

Because, honestly, I’m not special in those regards. I simply experience what most parents in America experience.

Being a parent is a thankless job. So what. That’s not news.

That used to matter to me- being thanked. Perhaps the greatest stride I took in my maturity growth as a parent was the day I stopped expecting confirmation that I’m a good parent.

To remain focused on that is to give too much power to other people and to set myself up for disappointment when I don’t get what I was hoping for in my own mind.

I learned to shake those expectations. I get it now:

Doing the dishes. Changing diapers. Telling you I love you everyday.  Getting up in the middle of the night when you randomly wake up and singing “Yellow Submarine” to you to help you get back to sleep.

And so it goes for every other menial task as I do as a parent and spouse.

It probably comes down to this anyway: The most important things I do in life, and that I am best at doing, are the things for which I’m not regularly thanked.

Serving is loving and leading. I get that now… no thank you’s required.

 

Love,

Daddy