parenting

2 Comments Posted on October 22, 2015 parenting, People, Pregnancy, Uncategorized

Dear Holly or Logan: Your First Family Pictures, in the Womb

14 weeks.

Dear Holly or Logan,

Last October, our family started a new family tradition. For about two months of each year, our family has matching ages.

Mommy and I were born within a year of each other, as were your Aunt Dana and Uncle Andrew, as were your brother Jack and your cousin Calla; and now, most recently, as will be you and your cousin Darla.

So the tradition is that during that 2 months of each calendar year, we take a picture together in Alabama where everyone else lives, to recognize this.

As you can see, your Aunt Dana is 8 months pregnant with your cousin Darla. Mommy is 14 weeks pregnant with you right now; nearly 3 months pregnant.

The next time we’re all planning on being together is Thanksgiving weekend, which is about 2 weeks after your brother Jack’s 5^th birthday.

But as for right now, Mommy and I are 34 years old, your Aunt Dana and Uncle Andrew are 31, your brother Jack and cousin Calla are 4, and you and your cousin Darla are still in the womb; which I labelled as “0” years old.

Your Aunt Dana is due with your cousin Darla on Thanksgiving Day. There’s a very good chance your cousin will have just been born by the time we arrive there for the holiday.

But at the same time, there’s even a chance we may not even meet Darla at all during Thanksgiving weekend; that is, if she is born a week past her due date, like your brother Jack was.

This week Mommy officially bought maternity clothes to accompany her body changing, as you grow inside the womb.

Hopefully, some of her nausea will cease as we enter the 2^nd trimester.

As for you, you are having a party in there; rocking the boat for Mommy inside.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on October 18, 2015October 18, 2015 car reviews, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

I Write Jingles for Toyota (Along with Philips Norelco & Monterey Bay Aquarium)

It’s true. I do indeed write jingles for Toyota.

Perhaps my inspiration is Phoebe Buffay of Friends when her song “Smelly Cat” was bought out by a major cat food brand.

In the age of YouTube, what can stop me from using my own time and talent to write and record jingles for free, and then promote them on my blog and YouTube channel?

Who knows, maybe I can eventually become a jingle writer full time? I’m making a habit of self-appointing myself as “jingle writer” for Toyota, as well as other brands.

I’ll show you what I mean…

Three weeks ago, our family was sent a 2015 Toyota Corolla to review here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog. One of the things I decided to do with it was to shoot a “homemade commercial”.

So I wrote “Down Low in a Corolla”:

Can’t ya see that we’re Corollin’?

Down low in a Corolla

Gotta keep that family flowin’

Down low in a Corolla

Can you keep up with us?

We’re no Kardashians

But we can lay it down if you can pick it up

Jammin’ to grooves of Walk the Moon

Kids’ car seat in the back

Before that, I recently wrote “Family in a Camry” while we reviewed the 2015 Toyota Camry:

I got my family in a Camry

And we’re happy campers trippin’ to your town

Here we go!

This same video also features the jingle I wrote for Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Hey, hey! It’s Monterey Bay Aquarium

Hey, hey! It’s an underwater adventure

I immediately afterwards wrote a jingle for the 2015 Toyota Avalon:

Come along, in an Avalon, we’re gonna make it great!

In July, Scion (which is part of the Toyota family) sent me to Grand Rapids, Michigan to check out their new Scion iM and IA. Here’s that jingle:

I’ve got my eye on Scion

Try on Scion

Experience what Millennials already know

The first Toyota jingle I wrote was back in May, when my son and I made a homemade commercial for the Toyota Sienna, which doubled as a trailer for our Jack-Man series.

Jack-Man rides in a Toyota Sienna minivan

His getaway car is driven by his dad

I also wrote a jingle for Philips Norelco:

In your face, 9700

In your face, you’ll be glad you found it

It cleans itself like a smart razor should

The percentage display shows the charge is still good

In your face, Philips Norelco

In your face!

We’ll see where this takes me. I enjoy writing and recording jingles for companies, for fun and for free.

You never know when it may get the right person’s attention.

2 Comments Posted on October 15, 2015 parenting, Pregnancy, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly or Logan: Why I Think You are a Girl

13 weeks.

Dear Holly or Logan,

Within two months, everyone in the free world will know whether you are a boy or a girl. But until then, it’s all educated speculation.

From the very beginning, I have confidently told Mommy that you are a girl. Here’s why:

With your brother Jack, it was like Mommy virtually had no pregnancy symptoms other than leg cramps, which we later figured out was because she needed to eat more bananas, which contained the magnesium and calcium she was needing in her diet.

But with you, Mommy is constantly nauseas.

The only relief is when she is asleep. Even though you can’t tell from looking at Mommy that she is pregnant, I am definitely aware because she is constantly feeling either really hungry or like she ate way too much; no matter how little or much she eats.

In other words, her pregnancy with Jack was a boy pregnancy. Now, I believe, Mommy is encountering a girl pregnancy.

Either way, these are all signs of healthy life inside of Mommy, so as much as it’s tough to know she’s feeling uncomfortable, it gives me peace knowing you are alive and well inside of her tummy. That is a blessing itself that I don’t take for granted.

As much as I would love another boy, I feel it could very easily be my fate to have a daughter.

Mommy and I taught 5th grade Sunday School for the past year. And while I loved interacting with the boys, there was something special about getting to know those girls that gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to have my own daughter.

It revealed to me a place in my heart to where I was able to see why parenting and mentoring a little girl would be a rewarding experience.

We’ll know the week after Thanksgiving. We can continue this conversation then.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on October 15, 2015 Nostalgia, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Our First Time to Carve Pumpkins Together

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

At the age of 34, I have finally carved a pumpkin for the first time. It’s just something I had never gotten around to until now. Of course, I needed your help.

I had you draw on the faces of the pumpkins with a marker (practicing on a sheet of paper first), then I carved them with a knife, after gutting the pumpkin. These are of course the pumpkins you picked at Gentry’s Farm last weekend.

You and I set up shop in the driveway, sitting at your Thomas the Train table.

I think we did a pretty good job for our first time carving pumpkins.

It brought so much more meaning to the act of going to pick out own pumpkins when we ourselves were the ones to “make them come to life.”

Now that I know how to carve pumpkins, I’m almost eager to do more of them. Since it’s just a once a year event, it’s not something we’ll have a lot of constant experience doing.

But maybe we should. Maybe we should regularly carve pumpkins together. I think we make a great team.

After all, you are a very crafty boy.

When I was doing the dishes on Sunday, I grabbed a Fiji bottle of water that was next to all the other dirty dishes. As I grabbed it to remove the lid to wash it, I realized there were several google eyes floating around, looking back at me.

The funny thing is, I didn’t even question it. I just set it aside; assuming it was just some random project you came up with when you were hanging out with me.

I know that often while Mommy is cooking, you set up your work station at the kitchen table and throw stuff together in a sort of artistic science experiment.

So whether you’re designing pumpkin faces, or making eyeball-filled water bottles, you’re using your talents and having fun in the process.

Love,

Daddy

1 Comment Posted on October 12, 2015 parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Our Family’s Visit to Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Last week at school your teacher apparently had read your class a book that talked about a corn maze. So Friday morning as I was helping you brush your teeth, you requested we go to one as a family.

The closest “pumpkin patch” that had a corn maze was Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN. So Saturday morning we headed that way.

At Gentry’s Farm, the pumpkin patch is basically right across from the parking lot, so as soon as we arrived, you found the very best pair of pumpkins out there.

Amazingly, they were only $3 each. We also let you pick out an all-white “ghost” pumpkin as well, from the $1 bin.

From there, we hopped on the hay ride and checked out the farm. We got to see some very young calves with their mommies.

Afterwards, you played on some of the playground a little bit before we finally visited the main attraction, in your mind at least.

Before entering the corn maze, we studied the map first. We saw there were two openings into the maze; both serving as either an entrance or an exit, depending on which one you started with.

We were about halfway through the maze when I figured out the trick:

“Jack, just follow the line of people coming towards us; as they should go where we just came from as well.”

You enjoyed your first corn maze. Plus, we saw a lot of people we knew there.

I’m glad you decided you wanted to go. Lots of good memories were created there for our family.

It’s the happening place to be right now in the Nashville area, for families looking to participate in the token American traditions for the fall season:

Picking pumpkins, going on a hayride, and walking through a corn maze.

We also had a lot of fun actually carving the pumpkins, too. But I’ll save that for another letter to you.

Love,

Daddy

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