How My Kids Play: It’s All Pretend
My kids love to play together. For the most part. Does a single day go by without somebody getting upset over what or how they are playing? No. But a day also never goes by without them coming right back to it. And they do come right back to it. Almost like a language of…
My Daughters are Liars
Watching your kids grow up is a crazy thing. You’re the one raising them, you see them every day, and in theory you know them better than anyone in the world. Yet somehow you still learn new things about them all the time. For example, I recently learned my daughters were filthy liars. Kids lie.…
Second Grade Wisdom: What We Can Learn from Kids
It is no secret that one of the great causes of divide in our times (and probably all of time) is that every one is completely certain they are right. Their point of view is the correct one. Their sources of information are the truth. Their pizza toppings are correct and you can take your…
My Son is Scared of Donald Trump
My kids are listening. I don’t mean specifically to me, that would be ridiculous. How would the dishwasher get emptied if I didn’t have to remind them five times? I mean in the sense that they are constantly taking in information, some of it intentionally given to them, and some of it they are just…
My Kids Don’t Know How to Watch TV
Advancements in technology are, for the most part, great. Take what I am doing right now for example. I’m sitting in a coffee shop using free internet that somehow is beaming its way to my computer. Full transparency, I have no idea how WiFi actually works or what the hell the difference is between any…
Teaching Kids How to Say I’m Sorry
A good apology goes a long way. A bad apology is worse than none at all. An apology from my children is essentially none at all. My kids are terrible at saying they are sorry. An apology from them falls into one of three categories – forced, insincere, or forced and insincere. For young kids,…
I Left My Kids. It Was Nice.
Today I abandoned my children. It felt good. I thought I would feel more anxious or guilty about it, but I was really fine with it. And so were they. It was actually their idea. It is a fine balance to strike between giving your kids what they want and what they need. Usually they…
A Calendar Never Forgets
There are some things that I’ll never forget – birthdays, home run totals, movie quotes. On the flip side, there are some things I can never remember – passwords, when was the time I changed the furnace filter, what my wife said is for dinner tomorrow. Generally, I tend to remember the stuff that is…
Do You Reward the Effort or the Result?
I recently helped my eight-year old daughter learn one of education’s greatest lessons – the importance of cramming for a test. Well, not exactly cramming. Its not like I had her up until 3:00 AM memorizing her multiplication or something crazy. I might be a bad enough parent to let her fall behind on her…
There Are No Off Days for Dad
I was recently reminded of something about being a parent – you can’t have any off days. That is not to say that you can’t get some time away from your kids. My wife and I try to get out for date nights as regularly as we can, and at least once a year take…
2024 in Review: From My Kids’ Perspective
2024 is in the books, and while I have thoughts on the year, I thought it might be fun to see what my kids thought about what happened in the last 12 months. Or more accurately, the last 3-ish months. Come to find out my children had a really hard time with the concept of…
Dad Writes a Short Story
While writing fiction is not my sweet spot, I do have something of a soft spot for it. I’m pretty sure anybody who has ever put pen to paper has had at least some small aspiration to write the next Great American Novel, and I’ve always wanted to write a screen play. While I’ve not…
My Son is Like Jesus
My four-year old son, Brooks, is in pre-school, and has recently wrapped up his first trimester of the year. With that comes a parent-teacher conference and a report card. I had his parent-teacher conference a few weeks ago. It took about two minutes. At his age there really isn’t much to go over other than…
Other Kids Like My Kids. Weird.
I think I may have under-estimated my kids. One thing I (and probably a lot of parents) worry about when their kids to go school, is if and how they’ll make friends. Or even worse, if they’ll get picked on. Much to my delight, it seems my kids have had no problem making friends. Whenever…
Stoic Saturday: Choose Your Own Injury
Once of the central thoughts in Stoicism is that you can’t control what happens, but you can control how you react. Not just how we physically react, but also how we react mentally and emotionally. As a parent, I know it is hard enough to get your kids to control their bodies. My son went…
A Proud Moment for Dad: Kids Taking Pratfalls
Sometimes I wonder if I am raising good people. Not just good kids that listen or eat their carrots, but good people. My wife has gotten the into the habit of doing “Kindness Wednesday”, where they’ll do something nice for somebody. That usually ends up with them getting some kind of treat for their teachers…
My Daughter Quoted Me
It seems like stereotypical dad quotes are never all that positive. I try hard not to say any of those, or any other cliche dad quotes. I try to be me, speak how I speak, regardless of my dad status. However, it has now become clear, that even though my cliches may not necessarily be…
Dress for the Weather, Dress for Success
Fall is the best time of year for many reasons – the sports, the food, the foliage. Also, the fashion. While shorts are for sure better than pants, flannels and hoodies are the much preferred top over the t-shirt. I know many dads do love a good souvineer t-shirt – but avoid that fahsion stereotype…
Kids With Homework: Am I Helping or Hurting?
A cool thing about being a parent is being able to re-live some of the favorite parts of your childhood with your kids. Not in a creepy trying to live vicariously through them and confusing their successes with yours. But in a way that you can see the experiences in a way that is both…
Investing in Experiences and Adventure
Investing in experiences rather than stuff can be one of the most rewarding decisions you make. For some people that means relaxation on a spa or on the golf course, and for some that means going up the side of a mountain. To each their own. The point is to get outside and experience the…
Tips for Car Buying When You Have Kids
Getting a new car is an exciting. Not just for you, but also for your kids. I recently leased a new truck, and my kids were very excited by the whole process. Looking at new cars on the lot, trying to figure out how they got other cars into the showroom, the free donuts in…
Your Kids Will Become Teenagers. Crap.
Try as I might to keep my kids little kids forever, I now they are growing up. It seems just yesterday my third grader was a pre-schooler. Such is life. Raising children is full of surprises. Your kids getting older shouldn’t be one of the, yet somehow it is. Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself,…
Dad Is a Terrible Tooth Fairy
Of all the areas a father could fail, I never thought I’d fail in the area of the whimsical and fanciful. I think I do a pretty good job of encouraging their imaginations, of trying to protect and prolong their childhood innocence and wonder, and as part of both – belief and participation in imaginary…
Proper Pageant Attire
You never know what your kids are going to be in to, but one thing I’ve learned so far as a parent is that whatever your kid is into – it is going to come with a dress code. If your kids are getting to pageants, as a proper dad are you ready for dress…
Tips to Make Moving Day Easier
Moving to a new home can be exciting. It cal also be a nightmare. According to some surveys, it’s right up there with divorce and the death of a loved one. But the good news is that you’ve got the power to make moving day far easier, and it’s all down to thinking things through…
Stoic Saturday: How to Act (Part 6)
In the final installment of breaking down Marcus Aurelius’s thoughts on the proper way to act, we come to my personal favorite line from Meditations – and in any of the Stoic writings I’ve seen so far. Also See: To stand up straight – not straightened. I love this. To me this is much of…
Tips to Plan a Road Trip
Road trips can be great for multiple reasons. They let you bond with friends and family, see more of the country, and much more. To actually see those, though, you’ll need to know how to plan a road trip and make sure it’s as amazing as possible. If it’s your first time, this can seem…
Protect Your Babies From the Sun
Call it global warming or call it climate change, weather is getting crazy. As I write this it is a cool and breezy 65 degrees. Last week was 90, and it will be 90 again next next week. In September. Taking kids too and from school means sometimes leaving one of the kids in the…
Teaching History to the Modern Child
I always liked history class. I still read a lot of biographies on historical figures, watch documentaires about histical events, and listen to history focused podcasts from time to time. My kids are still too young to have actual histry class in school, but my oldest did start learning about some local history in social…
Learning From a Trip to Urgent Care
When I think of classic father and son bonding moments, a few typical ones spring to mind. Playing catch in the yard, going camping, watching football, going to urgent care to get a foreign object removed from somebody’s ear. Oh, did you not have medically extracting an object from your son’s head on your male…
My Kids Will Know a World of AI
I have to say, I am incredibly sceptical of the real-world impact AI will have. I’m sure there will be big advancements for tech companies, but not sure how it will actually apply for the average person’s everyday life. Until Alexa can understand me when I tell her to never play any Taylor Swifts songs…
Grounding My Kids for the First Time
When I first started thinking about what kind of parent I thought I’d be, there were a couple things I never thought I would do. Send my kids to a “time out,” ground them, or reply with, “Hi Thirsty, I’m Dad,” when they told me they were thirsty. I had a pretty good run, but…
Simple Tips for Furgal Home Buying
Every time a house comes up for sale in my neighborhood, I can’t help but look it up to see what they are asking for. When I see how the housing market has changed from the time we bought our house to now, it is always very tempting to see what we could get for…
When the Going Gets Tough, Get Together
When you are in a relationship and then add some kids to it, you are bound to experience a number of difficult experiences together. In a way, you should expect this to happen and be prepared to take them in stride, as these are the times that can bring people together more closely. But there…
Teach Your Kids How to Eat
One thing I didn’t expect to have to teach my kids was how to eat. I guess I figured that since it is the first and only thing they know how to do when they are born, that it is overall a pretty instinctual process. Well, it’s not. A kid’s eating instincts are limited to…
My Kids Are Thieves
Kids take stuff from you. Part of it is inherent to their existence and dependence on you. They take your time because they need a lot of attention. They take your money because it turns out that keeping another human alive, fed, and in shoes that fit is pretty expensive. I think I was pretty…
Stoic Saturday: How to Act (Part 5)
An in interesting reminder here that while you’re dealing with whatever life throws at you, and you’re acting the way a Stoic should act – don’t forget to be happy about it. Cheerfulness. Without requiring other people’s help. Or serenity supplied by others. When you think of of a Stoic, a cheerful person probably isn’t…
Dad Is a Proper Man
My kids play a lot of pretend, but pretty much only pretend in two things: school or family. My daughters are teachers and their little brother is, well, I’m not sure what he is when they play school. Sometimes he’s a student, sometimes he’s a teacher too, mostly I think he’s just there. When they…
What Sport Will My Kids Play Next?
So far the only organized sport any of my kids have played is soccer. My older daughter has played for three years, my younger daughter just one. Despite my younger daughter’s goal scoring prowess, she has already let me know she is not playing again. My older daughter has also decided she has had enough.…
My Daughter Has a Weight Issue
For the last few weeks, my daughter’s weight has been a topic of interest in our house. If you think that sounds weird, well, yeah it kind of is. Evie, my six year-old daughter, has been watching her weight on a daily (sometimes multiple times per day) in her efforts to hit her target weight.…
The Importance of Dressing Accordingly
My kids are old enough to dress themselves (most of the time), but have no idea how to dress almost all of the time. Not matching is one thing, and I’ve given up on hopes that two matching socks will ever be worn at the same time again. However, dressing for the season and occasion…
The Unnatural Normalcy of Toy Guns
Most of what little kids do is pretty cute. Even when they are getting in trouble, they can make a face or give you a look that reminds you that they are still a tiny little mostly innocent person. You’ll see your kids do a lot of things, not all of them good, but almost…
My Son Doesn’t Want to Go to Heaven
Kids say funny stuff. The darnedest things some might say. At any given moment whatever thought bouncing around in their head could bounce our of their mouths. Sometimes on purpose, and sometimes not. The accidental statements are funny. Always entertaining when a kid says something funnier or cuter when they don’t realize what they are…
I’m Not Raising Children
What does it mean to raise a child? To successfully keep them alive until they reach a certain age that we feel comfortable saying they are on their own? Yes, keeping them alive is crucially important. You definitely shouldn’t skip that part of parenting. But that is also the baseline expectation, so assuming I strive…
Saturday Stoic: How to Act (Part 4)
The next bit of advice from Marcus Aurelius on how to act addresses how to carry yourself and what kind of attitude to approach life with. Let the spirit in you represent a man, an adult, a citizen, a Roman, a ruler. Not a specific take how to frame your thoughts, actions you should take,…
My Daughter and the Feelings Doctor
The decision to take out 7 year-old daughter to see a therapist was a lot easier than I guess I thought I would be. Several months ago, my wife brought up the idea and I questioned whether she really needed it or not. She got a recommendation but we didn’t do anything about it. A…
Fighting Dad Stereotypes: Dad Will Eat It
As I stood over the the ruined pan of brownies, picking the chewy bits of the overly cooked edges from my teeth, I thought to myself, “Is this what I’ve become?” As much as I’ve tried not to conform to the stereotypes of how a dad dresses, takes care of his yard, or fixes things…
Stoic Saturday: How to Act (Part 3)
Taking a look at the third bit of advice from Meditations on how to act, a look at less being more. No surplus words or unnecessary actions. I would say to a certain extent this one comes a little naturally to me. If I’ve got something to say, I’ll say it. If I don’t, I…
Stoic Saturday: How to Act (Part 1)
In my most recent pass through Meditations, this section caught my eye in a way it didn’t before. When I first read it, I didn’t so much as underline it. This time I circled it in bright orange highlighter. A clear, concise guide on how to to act. A more practical application of philosophy you…
K-12 Enrichment Company Brains & Motion Education (BAM!) Offers Better Summer Activities Than My Streaming Services
With the launch of enrichment provider Brains & Motion Education (BAM!), I now have a great idea on how to keep my kids entertained this summer. BAM! is a tech-enabled company unlocking the potential of students year-round, through not only after-school and structured recess, but summer camps too. With STEM, arts, and sports programs, they…
A Dad at Disney World: Lessons and Observations
Ever since our kids took an interest in Disney movies, my wife and I have been excited to take them to Disney World. In between an easy drive there and a painful drive back, we spent a week at The Happiest Place on Earth. I had gone as a kid myself, and as a kid-less…
A Road Trip to Disney World
When my wife and I told people we were taking the kids to Disney World, they all said “They are going to have so much fun!” When we told them we were driving, they said, “Oh….Good luck.” Luck? Who needs luck on a 1,200 mile drive when you’ve got a rubbermaid bin full of snacks…
Stoic Saturday: How to Act (Part 2)
Continuting to breakdown Marcus Aurelius’s thoughts on how one should act, the next part is a quick bit of advice – and also uses a great word. Don’t gussy up your thoughts. First off, let’s all agree that “gussy up” is a tragically underused phrase. Now that we’ve established that, my first thought is how…
What Does Dad Smell Like?
If scent is the sense with the strongest connect to memory, what will your kids remember about you? I don’t think I have a signature scent, but there is no time like the present to imbedding some olfactory fatherly memories. But what should that be? What do I want my kids to remember dad smelling…
Dad Has a Football Face
Life is a neverending journey of self-discovery. Some lessons we learn for ourselves, and some are taught to us. Yesterday I learned something new about myself. I have a “football face.” Not that I’ve got a football shaped dome like Hey Arnold or anything. My face and the noggin its attached are normal sized and…
2023: The Album (Live)
If you’re reading this, you know us well enough to be included in our annual Christmas/New Year’s letter. Congratulations! This year, we’re going audio. Please enjoy this playlist summing up the highlights of 2023. And yes, most of the songs are at least 25 years old, so you know they’re good. Track 1: Brooks Gets…
How Do I Explain Michael Jackson?
My five year-old daughter wasn’t feeling well. In the middle of the night she came into bed with my wife and I. She climbed in, got under the covers and said “Daddy, are Michael Jackson’s brothers alive?” Naturally. Michael Jackson, and his family, have been a frequent topic of questions from my kids for the…
My Daughter Hates Gym Class
She was in tears. She was on the verge of a full out meltdown. Refusing to get off the couch. Refusing to get her shoes on and get ready for school. I thought she must not be feeling well, but between her sobs she was able to let me know that wasn’t the case. Then…
My Son Won’t Stop Biting
There comes a time in every father’s life when he must sink his teeth into the fleshy pudge of of his three-year old’s arm. No? Is that just me? I know it is a very common thing for a child to go through a biting phase, but it is my understanding that it is also…
The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of
Over the years, my kids rarely get up in the middle of the night because they’ve had a bad dream. When it does happen, it seems to come in waves. We’ll go months without somebody crying out for mommy or daddy (usually daddy), and then get three or four in a week. Some of them…
I Wish I Could Tell My Kids to Shut Up
I won a raffle at a local coffee shop this week (shout out to Sparrows!) and my prize was a gift basket of stuff. It was sitting out on the counter when my wife got home from work, and upon seeing it she joyfully exclaimed “Shut up! We won!?” While my kids were not that…
My Kids Are Always Singing
Even before my kids were born, we always had music in the house. Records, radio, streaming, whatever, just something playing in the background. After my kids were born, we introduced them to music pretty much from the time we brought them home from the hospital. Music is supposed to be good for their little developing…
Will Scoring a Goal Go to My Kid’s Head Or Mine?
Since they were born, I’ve used many words to describe my daughters. Athletic has never been one of them. I’d like to think they have always been averagely coordinated for kids their age, but their abilities, behavior, and general interests so far don’t paint them as athletes. My five-year old daughter, Evie, has fallen down…
My Son is a Very Pretty Boy
My three-year old son has a lot of stereotypical little boy tendencies. He likes looking at big trucks. He likes to play with cars. He’ll walk up to you and randomly punch you in the leg. Not to be pigeon holed into traditionally assigned gender-based interests, he also enjoys the aesthetic of having freshly painted…
A Dad Makes Fire
I recently took my three kids camping for the first time. My big fear was that they would hate it. They wouldn’t want to sleep in a tent, they wouldn’t understand that there is no TV, they wouldn’t be OK with a shared toilet. But they all did really well. Sure, they need to work…
It’s Official: I’m a Cool Dad
I never really wondered what my kids thoughts of me. Then again, I never had to. They are open about telling me I’m the best dad ever after I perform such incredible feats as blowing on their hot oatmeal or being done with work for the day. Low as the bar to impress them might…
Do My Daughters Love Me Too Much?
I had always heard there was a special bond between dads and daughters. Of course I’ve never been a daughter, but I did watch a lot of Full House growing up so I’m pretty sure I got it. Now that I am on the daddy side of the daddy-daughter relationship, I can affirm that there…
But Where Is the Real Mickey Mouse?
An important part of creating fun experiences for your children is lying to them. Some of them little – “We’ll only be in the store for a minute.” Some of them big – “Be good or Santa won’t bring you anything.” A major reason is because it benefits us, we do it to get our…
Movie Lawyers: A Source of Parental Inspiration
For most people, their own parents are the primary model for how to be a parent – good or bad. After that, we are greatly influenced by the characters we see in TV and movies. As I’ve mentioned before, the current gold-standard for TV dads is Bandit Heeler, but sitcoms and movies have forever been…
Have I Created a Middle Child?
As soon as we had our third kid there was nothing we could do about – we’d have a middle child. Stupid math. In my mind I tried to tell myself that we would fall into the traps of creating the stereotypical middle child. Having two older girls and a baby boy, my second daughter,…
Can a Dad Cry? Yes, But I Probably Won’t
While playing a game of “Would You Rather”, my daughter asked me – would you rather cry glue or sweat maple syrup? My initial response was sweat maple syrup. While it would make exercise more challenging, It’d be delicious. However, when I thought about it for a few seconds I changed my answer to cry…
Stoic Saturday: How Do You See Your Kids?
There is, without a doubt, a gap between how we see our children and how they really are. We may see the smartest kid in class, a teacher may see a kid who won’t listen. We may see an athlete, a coach may see a kid who sure does try. We may see kids playing…
Waiting for Medical Results and Momento Mori
A few weeks ago I had something of a medical concern. I am usually one to take a wait and see if it goes away approach, but this caught my attention in a way that I thought would be best not to wait and see. I’m sure you’re curious what it was. Don’t worry, it…
Stoic Saturday: Don’t Wait for Another Instant
When you have kids it becomes easy to fall into the trap of planning ahead. It is easy to think of the next milestone or how much easier life will be once they are out of diapers. While planning can be wise and often necessary, the future should not be your focus – this moment…
Working From Home When Kids Go Back to School
Like many people in the modern workforce, I can work from home. Going into the summer, I knew I’d be working from home with at least one of my kids three days a week. My wife’s schedule allowed for her to be home with the kids the other two. Having two “normal” workdays in the…
Stoic Saturday: Be The Good You Want to See In Your Kids
Parenting essentially comes down to two things: keeping your kids alive, and making sure they grow up to be good people. There is plenty of help available for the keeping them alive part – car seats, baby gates, child-proof everything. Little kids are even designed to so bendy and squishy they are hard to break.…
Why Parents Can’t Go to the Bathroom
Kids can go from having a great time to having a terrible time in a split second. Usually it is their own fault. When it’s not their own fault, it is probably their brother or sister’s fault. Sometimes it’s the fault of the color of the cup you gave them. One of the more frustrating…
Picking Up My Son for the Last Time
When you think of memorable parenting moments, what comes to mind are the firsts. You save first pairs of shoes, sometimes people save locks of hair from first haircuts, the real weirdos save the first teeth kids lose. Baby books are filled with pictures and dates of first steps, smiles, solid foods. First days of…
Kids In an Airport: Worse Than Kids In an Airplane
A fun part of being a parent is experiencing the first things with your kids – first steps, first words, first time they can get up and get themselves a drink of water. A bad part about being a parent is experiencing the first things with your kids – first teeth, first trip to urgent…
My Daughter’s Favorite Princess is Herself
As much as I’ve tried to avoid it, my four year-old daughter has gravitated to princesses. I made it a point with both of my daughters to never call them “princess.” I didn’t want them to growing up with any kind of sense of entitlement, and I really didn’t want them to grow up to…
Can a Kid Hold a Grudge? Yes, They Can.
I (and I assume most other parents as well) choose to be selective in what I believe my kids will remember later on. When it comes to any kind of trauma – getting hurt, getting in trouble, getting dropped – I think, “oh they are little, they won’t even remember this later.” But when it…
How Many Dead Kids Is Enough?
We’ve all heard the cliche “freedom isn’t free,” and that is true. Every freedom we enjoy in America comes at a price. Freedom of speech comes with the price of having to hear people say things that you disagree with, that are flat out wrong, or that are said on Fox News. Freedoms provided by…
Dad’s Guilty Pleasure: Golf
Golf is an interesting hobby. It is technically a physical activity, but to spare yourself from something as physically demanding as walking, you drive yourself from shot to shot. Speaking of shots, unless it is being played at a legitimate competitive level, it is often nothing more than an excuse to drink in the middle…
What Motivates A Younger Sibling? The Spotlight.
Despite my belief that I really don’t care if my kids learn to ride a bike, we’ve succumbed to social pressures and gotten our daughters bikes. It really did get embarrassing watching a 4 year-old cram herself onto a tricycle built for a toddler. We got Lucy, our oldest daughter, a bike over a year…
Is Patience a Problem?
Patience is a virtue, but can it also be a hindrance to effective parenting? I’ve always tried to be as patient as I can with my kids, and for the most part I think I have been. Sure, sometimes when a kid throws a block at your face point blank you end up giving them…
A Great Compatibility Test: Vomiting Children
Kids will test many things about you. Your patience. Your ability to function without sleep. Your knowledge of dinosaurs. Your ability (or lack thereof) to braid hair. Your knowledge of basic math. These are things you have to expect going into parenthood. To a certain extent, you’ll also expect that kids will test your marriage.…
Teaching My Kids About Being White
We recently had a diversity and inclusion seminar at my office. At first, I thought the idea was kind of silly. Having a diversity seminar at my office would be like having a scuba seminar in the desert. Not that we discriminate in our hiring practices in any way, but we are in Grand Rapids,…
Kids in the Backseat: What the Hell Is Going On Back There?
What is it about the backseat of a car that seems to instigate bad behavior? Most parents would agree that they would prefer their kids to be on their best behavior in public and act out at home rather than the opposite. But what about the car? It is neither home nor out. They feel…
Preschool Boyfriends, Girlfriends, and Marriage
Having two girls, I know that boyfriends would some day come into the picture. Part of me completely dreads it, but part of me really looks forward to intimidating the young suitors that they bring home. I completely understand that it is probably not the most mature thing, but I really think I’ll get way…
Now My Kid Knows What War Is
While sitting at dinner, my 5 year-old informed me that, “Dad, there is a war today.” I cringed on the inside. She now lives in a world where war is real and not just a scary scene from Mulan, and a generation of kids has been failed by those that came before them. Armed conflicts,…
Dad Takes It Away
Before you have kids you really have no idea what kind of a parent you’ll actually be. You’ll have an idea of the kind of parent you’ll want to be, but until it’s your job to stop a tiny baby from crying there is absolutely no way of knowing for sure. Over time you develop…
A Child’s Laughter: From Adorable to Annoying
There is no sweeter sounds to a parent’s ears that the first time they hear their baby laugh. A tiny little coo or a bubbly little giggle, these are great. The first time they give you a solid belly laugh, the stuff dreams are made of. A kid’s genuine laughter is almost magical. Emphasis on…
Turning the Volume Up: A Parenting Strategy
As Garth Algar pointed out, parents hate any music played at the appropriate level. Perhaps it is generational, but to me certain music just sounds better loud. It is a scientific fact (probably) that you can’t play Welcome to the Jungle loud enough. There are certain songs that as soon as they come on the…
Dad Food: Leftover Chicken Nuggets
As Chris Rock pointed out, the least you can give a Dad to eat is the big piece of chicken. While mostly true, the actual least you can give Dad to eat is a half-eaten chicken nugget. Oddly enough, this is mostly what Dad eats. Like any other kid, I ate my fair share of…
This Is What Parental Failure Looks Like
Even before you have kids you wonder if you’ll be a good parent. After you have kids, you wonder even more. It can be pretty easy to be hard yourself. You really need to remember that nobody is perfect, and there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Even though we know this, there…
A Kid’s Concept of Money
My daughter is five and getting to the point where she knows that things exist because she has heard about out them or seen them in a movie, but doesn’t quite understand what it is. Money falls into this category. I know this because she thinks we have “so much” of it. For the last…
The Little Red Caboose Book: Why It Is Obsolete
Last night my daughter picked The Little Red Caboose for her story before bed. I had never read it to her before, and I was surprised she picked it. When I told her to pick a book, I think she panicked and picked the first book she saw on the shelf. I do the same…
Dropping Off Kids: This Is My Life Now
Being a parent is not a job. It is your life. A life that you sometimes need to remind yourself that you chose on purpose. Certain aspects of parenthood can absolutely feel like jobs – chef, maid, warden. Of course, if those were your actual job they would pay you money, and filling those roles…
Including Kids In a Wedding: Adorably Stressful
When my sister-in-law first came to my wife and I with the proposition that our kids participate in her wedding, we were thrilled. Visions of our tiny people dressed like fancy adults flashed before our eyes. A little man in a tie and suspenders? Little ladies in poofy dresses? I am holding back an “Aawwwwww”…
Baseball With Dad: A Perfect Manipulation
One of the biggest differences between having no kids and having three kids, is having lots of time to watch sports and almost no time to watch sports. I still watch when I can, which for the most part is games that are on after my kids are in bed. My kids know I like…
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I Think Therefore I Dad 