Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Only From A Dream Can You Wake To Light

April 12, 2013 at 6:53 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Yesterday morning as Mommy came to your bed to wake you up, you made a special request:

“Mater Juice! I want my Mater Juice! Where’s my Mater Juice?”

It would take the rest of the morning before you yourself began to possibly consider that whatever exactly “Mater Juice” was, it was something you had dreamed about.

I assume it’s the kind of juice that Mater from Cars drinks; which I would assume is motor oil. I’m confident you’re not referring to tomato juice.

The last time I considered that you have dreams was back when you were just a newborn and I wrote a post called Funny Faces and Baby Dreams:

“He often slips in and out of sleep when I stare at him.  I try to imagine what he is dreaming about, as his face tells the seemingly same story every time.  The dream starts out with Baby Jack petting a friendly puppy (Jack always starts his dreams smiling).  Then a mean dog comes along and scares Jack and the friendly puppy (that’s when Jack has a worried look on his face).  Lastly, the dream ends with him drinking milk or pooping (as he either starts ‘rooting’ or grunting, accordingly).  What else would a baby dream about anyway?”

My understanding is that a dream is the unfinished processing of what the mind is preoccupied with. Therefore, your “Mater Juice” dream might simply be showing that in your recent obsession of monster trucks, you are now realizing you neglected Mater’s Tall Tales on our Netflix streaming cue. Also, with all the aftermath of your remaining Easter candy, Mommy and I haven’t let you drink any watered-down juice here lately.

In addition to Mommy and I learning about your dreams, we are also exposed to your playful imagination. Tonight as Mommy put you to bed, you proclaimed:

“I see a mouse. He’s dancing on the ceiling. And a man- he’s walking a bear.”

Or maybe that was simply you fading into a dream state while still awake.

Coincidentally in the midst of your leftover dreams and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” sorts of visions, I just watched a very captivating episode of Mad Men(Season 5) called “Far Away Places” and I’m trying to process this quote from it:

“Only awareness can make your reality and only what’s real can become a dream and only from a dream can you wake to the light.”

In other words… the more you learn, the more you have to dream about, and the more your dreams reveal what unfinished business you have about what you have learned.

Tomorrow morning we should watch Mater’s Tall Tales while drinking watered-down juice.

You’re lucky to have me as your dream interpreter. Just imagine, “Mater Juice” could have just been written off as some random dream…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Hurry Up And Leave… So I Can Wave Goodbye!

April 11, 2013 at 7:28 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

I will admit I don’t always understand your logic.

Your newest tradition is to wave goodbye to Mommy as she pulls out of the driveway each morning. I gather that it is a time and tradition that helps you share a connection with her on a daily basis.

But this morning… as Mommy stood in the doorway, smiling at you, telling you to have a good day, telling you that she loves you, telling you that she will miss you, you just stared at her and said nothing.

The moment she walked out to her car, you got excited. You actually got giddy, even.

By the time she started backing out of the driveway, you were jumping with excitement, because finally, the moment had come when you would be able to… wave goodbye to her.

To spell out the irony here. you basically wanted Mommy to hurry up and leave so you could wave goodbye to her.

Your way of thinking is just different than mine, or Mommy’s, sometimes.

Like last night after I put you to bed and you were already overly tired to begin with, you sang at the top of your lungs for the next 15 minutes until I finally went back into your bedroom to remind you that it was time for fall asleep, to which you simply replied, “Okay,” then fell asleep a minute later.

I thought your song choice was pretty interesting, it was a medley of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” and the “Alphabet Song,” all of which share the exact same tune.

As for me, when I am completely exhausted, like the way I am right now as I write this, the last thing I would feel like doing is singing songs at the top of my lungs.

Logic has yet to become a priority in your life. Enjoy that while you can, kid.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

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Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

Is It Cheaper To Go Vegan/Vegetarian?

April 10, 2013 at 9:30 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

In theory, a family who buys no meat products should have a lower grocery bill each week. We don’t, though.

However, we still spend less money on food; it just depends on a person’s definition of groceries…

As you lifted up the “tailgate” (box flap) of your “pick-up truck” (Chobani yogurt box) and started to “drive it” (pinched the box with a pair of salad tongs) it somehow prompted me to discuss with Mommy how much our grocery bill has went up or down, compared to the days before we were aware of things like Yellow 5, sodium laurel sulfate, and Monsanto.

Our grocery bill is actually the same amount as it was when we were carnivores. This is because we make up for the cost of meat by buying higher quality (and more expensive) vegetables, fruits, and grains.

It’s not just about avoiding meat, it’s about avoiding toxic chemicals like artificial colors, flavors, MSG, and GMO’s.

Since our conversion, we have learned there are actually few food brands that we trust anymore. One of the few is Chobani.

While most brands try to disguise their ingredients, Chobani is very clear about what is and is not in their products.

They are one of the few exceptions we have found; as well as Annie’s Homegrown. We simply ignoremost other brands, because we don’t trust them.

We are paying for quality and it’s worth it, to us.

So even though our grocery bill is the same, what has definitely changed is the amount of money we spend on eating at restaurants. It used to be between $100 and $200 a month, now it’s basically zero.

It’s not a moral issue; instead, it just seems pointless by now. Mommy has, by default, become a vegan/vegetarian chef for our family; thanks in part to the Oh She Glows recipe website.

Making delicious healthy meals is now becoming a sacred (and fun) thing for our family. It is difficult for us to trust random strangers at restaurants who we have to assume may be cooking our food in or with mysterious chemicals. Not to mention, a restaurant meal typically doesn’t ensure leftovers for lunch the next day, the way a home-cooked meal easily does.

To answer the question of whether it’s cheaper to go vegan/vegetarian, the answer is ultimately yes. We now save between at least $100 to $200 a month by simply avoiding restaurants alone.

 

 

Love,

Daddy

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My 2 Year-Old’s Made-Up Curse Word

April 9, 2013 at 9:29 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Sunday afternoon as we were pulling out of the Kroger parking lot from filling up Mommy’s car with gas, you shouted:

“Red Jeep! I want to see it!Bow! Red Jeep! Bow!My red Jeep!”

I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the red Jeep Wrangler you were referring to, but we weren’t going to turn the car around just so you could take a peek at a red Jeep, which you are guaranteed to see at least 5 of on the drive to daycare everyday.

(Nashville is overly saturated with Jeep Wranglers; not that that’s a bad thing!)

With a very confused look on my face, I asked Mommy, “Wait, what is he saying? Bow? Like it rhymes with pow or how, except it’s bow?”

She explained, “Yeah, that’s his new word he yells out when he doesn’t get what we wants.”

Turns out, you’ve been using “bow!” on a daily basis, as I later learned from Mommy. You even have a hand gesture to accompany your exclamatory word: You pretend to throw a ball at the person you saying it to.

Basically, it’s a lot like like that scene on the movie Step Brothers where Rob Riggle just keeps shouting out “pow!” and no one really understands why or even what word he’s actually saying.

You’ve learned you can’t get away with yelling “no!” to us, so you’ve crafted a new defiant word that makes it difficult for Mommy and me to take you too seriously.

I’m actually quite impressed by your creativity. For now, “bow” will remain a parent-approved curse word for you to use.

Personally, I enjoy watching and hearing you say it because it’s so hilarious to see you so passionately shout out a word that is ultimately meaningless, though it does a good job of helping you express how you feel.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

5 Reasons Your Facebook Friends Are Going Vegan

April 5, 2013 at 12:43 pm , by 

2 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

Two days ago on The Huffington Post, an article was published entitled “Interest In Vegan Diets On The Rise: Google Trends Notes Public’s Increased Curiosity In Veganism.”

The title intrigued me, as I have recently been noticing that several of my Facebook friends have been discussing the fact that their families have either began leaning towards being vegans or have recently officially converted.

Sure, maybe I’m more keen to notice, since my own conversion from vegetarianism to veganism a month ago. But after reading the article, I realized it wasn’t just in my head:

“A 2012 study commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group and undertaken by Harris Interactive found that the 2.5 percent of the country identified themselves as “vegan,” up from 1 percent in 2009. That may not seem like a drastic leap, but it is when you consider that the number of vegans has more than doubled in just three years.”

My own downward spiral began with a severe and “incurable” case of eczema which led me to going kosher and cutting out processed sugar, which encouraged me to start actually eating real fruit and veggies.

Then I stopped craving meat because I was eating more whole fruits and vegetables. Then the thought of cheese started grossing me out. Now all the food I eat comes from plants; no animals- no meat, no eggs, no dairy… I even avoid honey.

Now, it’s like I constantly feel a buzz; a buzz in which I am alert, my thoughts are clear and quick, and my sinus and allergy problems have all gone away.

What about the fact I can’t eat birthday cakes or doughnuts or ice cream anymore? I don’t miss those things. I don’t desire to have my mood or physical state of being lifted, because it’s already there.

I don’t want to mess with this buzz. That’s what will happen if I eat animal products again, so I’m not even tempted.

Not to mention, I’m staying plenty full off all the protein, fiber, and nutrients I’m getting from just fruits, vegetables, whole grain rice and pasta, beans, seeds, and plenty of water.

As for my 32nd birthday coming up in a couple weeks, you and Mommy are currently practicing recipes from the vegan recipe blog,Oh She Glows.

So why are vegan Facebook status updates showing up in news feeds? Here’s what I think:

1. More “normal” people are doing it now, not just expected stereotypes. (Am I considering myself as one of the normal ones?)

2. This may disprove the sentence before this one, but more celebrities are now vegan and that influences the rest of us sometimes more than we realize.

3. The majority of daily Facebook users are from “Generation Why,” as in, “Why am I eating mysterious ingredients that are linked to obesity, depression, hyperactivity, cancer, and diabetes?”

4. Netflix streaming, which was quite instrumental in my conversion, is providing us with information we didn’t have access to before; like about the treatment of the animals we eat, the relationship between eating animal proteins and cancer, and realizing that plants themselves provide all the nutrition we need to begin with.  I challenge anyone to watch all the following documentaries and keep from going vegan:

Supersize Me, Food Inc., Forks Over Knives, Vegucated, and Hungry For A Change.

5. The price of meat is rising, even with factory-farmed animals eating that infamous Monsanto corn.

Knowing that the number of vegans has more than doubled in the past three years alone, I wonder what will happen in the next three years… especially if seemingly normal people keep talking about it on Facebook.

 

Love,

Daddy