Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

Why This Dad Supports Proposition 37, The Food Labeling Bill

November 1, 2012 at 2:59 am , by 

23 months.

I happen to be on vacation right now in California, and couldn’t help but notice the continuous TV ads either praising or demonizing the state’s Proposition 37.

It is a food labeling bill that would force companies selling genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) to make this clear in their labels, to notify potential consumers.

To research both sides of the controversy, visit CA Right to Know and No Prop 37.

However, if you would like to hear my extremely biased perspective, keep reading.

This is a subject I am passionate about. It’s a personal issue for me which I have written about several times before.

My family has been vegetarian for nearly a year now; to the best of our knowledge, that is.

Honestly, I am less concerned about knowing whether my food has GMO’s and more concerned about knowing what actually is in my food. But I know that if Proposition 37 is passed, it will provide a greater chance for a future of more honest food labeling, in general.

Back in February, I published an article named “Is ‘Natural’ Vanilla Flavoring Really From Beavers’ Anal Glands?”

What a silly and ridiculous question to have to ask. But the the truly silly and ridiculous thing was that the answer was, and still is, an assumed yes.

I want the confidence of knowing that my son isn’t eating food that was “naturally” flavored by the anal glands of a beaver.

Not to mention, pudding and gelatin are made from the skin and bones of cows and pigs; not vegetarian or kosher.

Oh, and the red food dye Crimson Lake comes from parasite bugs. I applaud Starbucks for agreeing to stop using Crimson Lake in their drinks earlier this year.

Why did Starbucks implement the change? Because it’s what some of their vegan and vegetarian customers asked for.

Similarly, there are Californians who want their food growers to be less candid as well.

If you have Netflix, watch Food, Inc. It’s a very well-produced documentary that helps us understand, as well as question, what’s actually in our food and where our food comes from. You will understand why people like me cringe at the mention of the name Monsanto.

Then it will be that much more interesting that Monsanto is currently the top financial donator against Prop 37, having already spent over $7 million to campaign against it.

I also highly recommend taking look at this list of the top donors, both for and against the bill.

Let me be the first to admit Proposition 37 isn’t perfect. I have extracted this quote from No Prop 37, a website that is against the food labeling bill:

“Prop. 37 is full of absurd, politically motivated exemptions that make no sense. It requires special labels on soy milk, but exempts cow’s milk. Dairy products, eggs, meat and poultry are all exempt. Fruit juice requires a label, but alcohol made with some of the same GE ingredients is exempt.”

Good point. Proposition 37 is politically motivated and catered to protect certain groups. But I would rather have an imperfect solution than no solution.

I believe that if Proposition 37 is passed, other states will adopt similar, yet better, versions of the bill.

In closing, please know that I welcome all comments on Proposition 37, especially from people who completely disagree with me.

If you believe my opinion is wrong, let me know why. Use this article as a platform for your biased perspective, as I have just done.

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Falling In Mutual Weirdness And Calling It Love

October 25, 2012 at 11:31 pm , by 

23 months.

Very seldom do I credit the word “genius” to artists of my lifetime, because it can be a pretty cliche thing to say. People say Quentin Tarantino and Lady Gaga are geniuses. To that, I submit a circa-2010 “Meh…”.

But there is no doubt about it: Dr. Seuss, who died in 1991, when I was only 10, was definitely a genius artist.

There’s a quote which is often credit to him, though it was actually comes from p.115 of True Love: Stories Told to and by Robert Fulgham:

“We’re all a little weird, and life’s a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

That, my friends, is also genius. That is the kind of quote I am jealous of because I didn’t think of it first.

It doesn’t just apply to the person you marry. For me, it also obviously applies to the relationship between my son and me.

He’s only 23 months-old. So for anything weird he does, like his impression of a snake that involves flapping his arms like a chicken, barking like a dog, and covering his nipples, all while he tries to go potty as his Mommy and Dada watch, he has a solid excuse.

I’m 31 years old. Somehow that gives me less of an excuse to be weird.

Since he’s my son and is exposed to my weirdness on a daily basis, he gets an extra dose; on top of the God-given weirdness he already has.

Needless to say, the two of us have joined up in our mutual weirdness and call it love.

In his ever-renewing resistance to falling asleep for naps and bedtime, I have to step up my game as needed.

Recently he’s been going down less easily, so as of 3 weeks ago, I invented a technique that I, for some unknown reason, named “droning.”

Imagine what it would sound like combining the African back-up singers on Paul Simon’s acclaimed Gracelandalbum with your token chanting monk:

“Uh-ah-mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhh.”

On repeat for like 4 minutes.

It’s basically the human equivalent to the white noise a humidifier makes if you could turn up the volume on one.

I hum this into the side of his cheek as I hold him, then lay him down in his bed once he gets in the trance, and then I do it again for a couple more minutes to let it all really soak in.

If he isn’t deep enough in his sleep mode when I start backing out of the room while still droning, he politely calls out in the dark room:

“Dada?”

It’s his way of saying, “Will you keep doing that weird thing that helps me fall asleep?”

I appreciate when he does that. It shows me he likes my weirdness. He asks for my weirdness.

Cool kid.

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Spirituality, Storytelling

Morbid Thoughts On Leaving Behind My Legacy Through My Child

October 25, 2012 at 8:51 pm , by 

23 months.

A few months ago during brunch, a friend was giving me some reasons why my wife and I should have another child. I guess for most normal people, it would have been a simple concept that was relatable.

But for me, well, I’m still trying to sort out what I’m supposed to make of what he said:

“Each time you have a child, it’s like another way you leave behind your legacy.”

I’ve thought about it for at least 90 days. My internal response is still the same as it was back on the day I first processed that concept:

What do I care what people say and think about me generations from now?

Let’s face it: A hundred years from now, we’ll all be dead.

Even more morbid is the fact that while there are 8 billion alive on the Earth today, a lot more than that have already lived and died.

I guess somehow that’s the reason I don’t care so much about leaving behind my legacy through my child.

Because what matters to me most is the living legacy I provide for my family. How in this moment and day can I be the best dad for my son that I can be?

It’s funny how it never takes anything too extravagant. It just takes being there for him, through the mundane times more so than the notably special ones.

For me, I don’t ever think how I will be remembered a century from now. If these yet-to-be-born-strangers are really that curious, maybe the Internet as we know it will still exist and they can just Google me or look up my Facebook profile.

Just as we all live together at the same time, we’ll all be dead together too.

So for the people I matter to in this life, I want to share my legacy with now, in present day, not leave it behind after I’m gone.

I’d rather be alive and influential than dead and famous.

 

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Losing Sleep Over Where My Son Will Sleep (Part 1)

October 23, 2012 at 10:17 pm , by 

23 months.

We’re not a family of beach bums. We’re the opposite; whatever the opposite of a beach bum is.

In other words, we like to go where the crowds aren’t and where the weather isn’t very hot.

Fortunately, my wife’s family is in Sacramento; which gives us a good and necessary reason to travel out there once a year.

This weekend, that’s where we will be flying. With Jack’s 2nd birthday coming up on November 16th, this is the last time we can take advantage of him getting to fly for free.

No doubt about it, I’m very excited to take a week off from work and travel to one of my favorite spots in America.

But of course, I’m looking at this from a realistic perspective. A “vacation” with a nearly 2-year-old where we’re flying cross-country is not exactly a vacation for me.

I don’t mind being a glorified version of a stage hand while my wife catches up with her family and gets to see Jack, after over a year since last time.

Even the plane ride with Jack doesn’t intimidate me much. After all, I survived it last year when he was much more high maintenance.

The only thing that worries me is where he will sleep. It’s a really big deal to me.

If he doesn’t get good, consistent nights of sleep while we’re out there, I will turn into the Incredible Hulk.

(Not the updated Avengers movie version, but the 1978 Lou Ferrigno TV show.)

I don’t like me when I’m angry. When Jack doesn’t sleep well, neither do I; then I turn into a monster.

Jack still sleeps in his crib and he has outgrown his Pack N Play.

So one option is to put up some safety rails alongside a twin bed once we get there.

Another option is to buy a cheap or used Pack N Play as soon as we arrive, but A) I don’t want to have to worry about that after getting off the plane and B) I don’t want to spend money on something I may not be able to bring back home.

The best case scenario is we find a friend or family member who has a Pack N Play that we can borrow while we’re there, but no luck on that so far.

I guess this dilemma took the back burner in the midst of planning not only the trip out there but also Jack’s birthday party for that side of the family.

But here we are, days away from leaving, and I don’t have closure with this.

To dissect why this causes so much turmoil and unsettledness for me, it is because it’s my job to get Jack to sleep for all his naps and bedtimes. That’s one of the things I do! I’m very proud of that skill.

Without me getting him to sleep, it’s a world suspended in chaos. Bad things, man.

Getting Jack to sleep is something I’m an expert on. But without the appropriate place for him to fall asleep, I can’t work my magic.

The world is coming to an end.

To be continued…

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Spirituality

My Toddler’s Self-Taught Bedtime Bible Stories

October 23, 2012 at 8:42 pm , by 

23 months.

“I want John! I want Paul!” my son Jack whines.

You’d think he was just a big Beatles fan like his dad, until he continues:

“Martha- where’s Martha? Jesus! There’s Jesus. Jesus sleepy.”

For the past 23 months, Jack has been exposed to a children’s story Bible for bedtime. But now that he can piece sentences together and recall names of different characters, his children’s story Bible has never been more relevant.

His Bible is officially his favorite book. Why wouldn’t it be?

Plenty of camels, horses, sheep, and bearded men in robes to keep the attention of a 23-month-old little boy.

I think it’s hilarious/awesome that Jack has memorized the cartoon representations of at least a dozen men of the Bible. The only real distinction between them is the color of their beards and robes.

Tonight during story time as he sat in my lap and read to me, he made it his mission to find Mark. The problem is, even I couldn’t find Mark.

So I turned to a page where Jesus was feeding the multitudes from a little boy’s bread and fish. I figured with all the bearded men surrounding Jesus on that page, Jack would think he saw Mark somewhere in the crowd.

Not so much.

As I put Jack to bed tonight, it was kind a struggle for me to get him in sleep mode.

“I want Jesus! Jesus!” he cried, literally.

What he wanted was for me to let him take his children’s story Bible to bed with him, like he would his Elmo doll.

I just didn’t see that being a very comfortable situation in the middle of the night.

So Jack did settle for Percy the Train instead.

What’s interesting is that today during my lunch break, I mountain biked across town to the LifeWay store. I was just curious…

Do they sell a Jesus action figure, or even a plush doll?

They don’t.

But I sort of have a feeling by the time this story really ends, I’ll find one for him.