Sponsored Post: XFINITY’s Share App Lets You Stream Live from Smartphone to TV

DISCLOSURE LANGUAGE

XFINITY partnered with bloggers such as me for this program. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about any product mentioned in these posts. XFINITY believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. XFINITY’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Sponsored Post: XFINITY’s Share App Lets You Stream Live from Smartphone to TV

In my third and final post of my XFINITY series, I am spotlighting XFINITY’s new share app.

While there are other photo sharing apps out there, XFINITY’s share app is the only one that allows you to share the image to the biggest screen in your house: your TV, of course.

Sponsored Post: XFINITY’s Share App Lets You Stream Live from Smartphone to TV

You can also share photos from your phone and then save them in the app on your TV. Therefore, you can easily relive your summer beach vacation on the biggest screen in your house; not simply a computer or laptop screen.

I find myself taking so many pictures but never really looking through them after I take them. They’re just stuck in my phone unless they were specially chosen to be featured on Instagram or Facebook.

But with XFINITY’s share app, think of all the events you can now better appreciate viewing as a family; whether it’s your child’s soccer game, your nephew’s graduation, or even simply a beautiful sunset. Now you can see the finer details of that memory.

Because XFINITY’s share app is able to stream live, you could live stream an event for everyone back home if they are unable to see the event in person.

For example, this coming weekend for Father’s Day, I am taking both my own dad as well as my son to the Monster Jam monster truck show in downtown Nashville. Meanwhile, my mom, wife, and 7 week-old daughter will be home. By using XFINITY’s share app, we could share with them back home what’s going on at the truck show.

Like I mentioned, XFINITY’s share app is the only share app currently out there that allows you to help your family share their experiences via live stream on your TV.

Thanks for learning about XFINITY’s share app today!

Sponsored Post: XFINITY’s Share App Lets You Stream Live from Smartphone to TV

No, I am Not Joel from The Last of Us

No, I am Not Joel from The Last of Us

Imagine this:

In addition to Family Friendly Daddy Blog, I have another following on my YouTube channel, where I do a weekly series for young men (age 15 to 22-ish) that focuses on masculinity. Therefore, about 80% of my YouTube subscribers are male. However, my readership of this blog is about 80% female.

Here’s the breakdown: I am better at creating videos for a male audience and I am better at creating blog content for a female audience.

That means most of my YouTube subscribers have never read any of my blog posts and most of my blog readers have never watched any of my videos on YouTube.

Today is one of the rare exceptions in which I tie the two together.

As I’m currently growing out my “postpartum beard”, I received a comment a one of my YouTube videos this week: “With the beard you look kinda like Joel from The Last of Us”.

I had no idea who that was- I figured it might be some new sitcom on CBS or something. Thanks to a quick Google search, I learned that Joel is the main character of a 2013 video game called The Last of Us, in which he must escort a young girl named Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States.

Based on the fact he appears to be a rugged, masculine hero, I obviously take that comparison as a compliment.

Last week I was genuinely mistaken for Tai Lopez. Now today, I’m told I look like a video game character.

I think it’s fun to make these comparisons public. By default, I may create a new series here on my blog, based on when people tell me I look like someone else.

By the time I shave my postpartum beard in a couple weeks, I’m sure I will easily look like someone else I’ve never heard of, as was the case with Tai Lopez and Joel from The Last of Us.

No, I am Not Joel from The Last of Us

Dear Holly: I Particularly Love Your Ears

1 week.

Dear Holly: I Particularly Love Your Ears

Dear Holly,

Before you or your brother were born, I always thought all babies basically look the same. And for the most part, I probably still do believe that.

But as for you, there is one certain feature I have noticed from the very beginning that I just really find adorable: your ears.

Mommy noticed this too. The fold at the top of your ears are 90 degree angles. That’s not something we’ve ever seen before.

I love your ears.

No matter how old you are, you’ll always have your unique ears. I will always adore them on you.

Your eyes still have that bluish tint in them that newborns have, but it looks like it’s only to cover up brown eyes for the time being. I think in the next couple of months, it will be obvious to the world that you have brown eyes like Mommy and me, and unlike your brother Jack who has blue eyes.

Dear Holly: I Particularly Love Your Ears

As for your hair color, I’m seeing what appears to possibly be (at the moment) a sort of strawberry blonde color. I definitely see hints of red, but then your eyebrows are clearly platinum blonde.

Obviously, your brother Jack had blonde hair for most of his life. Only recently has it truly started looking brown, though he still has some platinum blonde in his bangs when I spike his hair up.

Speaking of Jack, you actually look a lot like he did when he was a newborn. I predict that the two of you will resemble each other.

I am enjoying seeing you in your girly clothes that we’ve had ready for you all these months. You are such a beautiful and precious little girl.

And you are particularly fun to hold. You are so mellow and so cute, that time just flies by before I realize it.

Love,

Daddy

j8

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

I’ve only had an Instagram account for about 6 months now, but I can’t help but notice an ongoing theme: My son’s sense of humor is beyond his years… and mine. The thing is, I’m not convinced he’s trying to be funny. And that’s what makes it so great.

After one of on my most recent Instagram posts, I had one of his my son’s fan’s suggest I do a sort of “best of” compilation. I decided to go for it.

By scrolling below, you will be able to see my top 20 my most favorite Instagram posts featuring my son’s most confusing/bizarre/genius/awesome quotes, ideas, and artwork; spanning from November 2015 through April 2016.

I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to keep a straight face. Feel free to share with me which of these is your favorite and tell me why.

And if you’re not already following me on Instagram, there’s a good chance that this blog post today will convince you to do so: @nickshellwrites

#1 “The wolf is peeing in a bag and there is a suction cup on the bag that connects to the bottom.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#2 “She has the chain so she can fly… and so she can’t get away.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#3 According to Jack’s drawing today at school, dragons really did breathe fire. Looks like there was more than one way to breathe it out.”

1My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#4 “The whale had gas and then the fish swam by and got stuck in the stink, then it all went back up the whale’s butt.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#5 “He eats the spaghetti and meatballs and then he potties them right into the toilet.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#6 “It’s a mommy baby and a baby baby and they are just wearing diapers.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#7 “The machines are taking the needles out of the seal ghost.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#8 Jack explained that we were reading his love letter to Mommy upside-down. I guess that’s better than what we thought?

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#9 Jack secretly drew a picture today at school of a dog doubly relieving himself in the yard next to an ant hill.

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#10 Jack took it upon himself to do a sequel to yesterday’s innovative piece… this time with a cat doubly relieving himself. He specifically told me he drew it for Mommy.

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#11 “Look, Pandy is in the Air Force now. She has swords.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#12 “The truck isn’t hauling Easter eggs… they’re poop balls.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#13 “The bad tree is spraying the monster so the monster is shooting him with a lightning bolt.”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#14 He made the 10 Commandments out of cookies and icing at church this morning…but he’s already eaten 5 of them.

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#15 “The lightning hit the building and then the sneaky mischievous fire said, “Hey, what are we going to do today?”

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#16 Not sure why I came home to a trail of 5 hand-crafted paper bag cat puppets leading from the front door to the kitchen. My son has yet to explain.

#17 He was the only kid in his Sunday School class to decorate his cross with a two-headed dragon.

My Son’s Top 20 Accidentally Hilarious Instagram Antics: @nickshellwrites

#18 “Hey Daddy, someday can we go to Indiana? I heard you can get the Mr. Happy book there.”

#19 Jack insisted I take a picture of him as a “slime pirate”. So here it is.

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#20 I thought something felt weird all day in my shoe. My 5 year-old son quickly, and proudly, confessed.

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Now, which was your favorite and why? And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram: @nickshellwrites

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

5 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

Dear Jack,

This past weekend was likely your final weekend as an only child. I recognize the significance of that and so I wanted to make sure we got out and made it exciting.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

On Saturday, our family met up with your friends Madison and Avery (and their families) at the park. You have known them both since you were around 1 year old.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

We didn’t realize it, but there were some vendors there including K-Love radio station. They had a man in a bucket in a crane truck who threw a foam ball to all the kids below. You loved it!

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

That afternoon, we dropped Mommy off at the house to do some further “nesting,” while we went back to explore some more of McCutcheon Creek, where we left off from the week before.

In order to cross the water, we had to “build a bridge.” I found an old piece on sheet metal nearby, so I tossed it across the water and it landed on a rock; giving just enough length for you to get to the shore.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

Whereas the theme of our McCutcheon Creek expedition the week before was mud, this time it was trees. We were trekking through an area of the creek where the trees served as a canopy over us. Some of the branches were so low that we had to cross over and under them.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

At one point I abruptly announced to you, “Stop! Do you hear that?” We immediately heard a swarm of bees, but didn’t see them. I wanted to make sure we weren’t standing on some kind of underground bee colony.

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

Fortunately, we weren’t. However, we were standing right underneath them: The tree we were standing next to was rotted out, with the bees having their home at the top of the tree!

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

We turned around and escaped without any bee stings. It’s always an adventure when you and I go exploring the creek!

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?

And once Papa gets here when your sister is born, I have a feeling we will go explore more of McCutcheon Creek with him too. Even more fun!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Your Last Weekend as an Only Child?