Shattered Lives

Nothing makes us think more than the death of someone we know.  It may be someone that we haven’t known more than a few weeks, and we may not have known him well at all.  But sometimes those losses weigh that much more on your mind, body, and soul.  Recently we lost a fellow father at en extremely young age, 20 to be exact, and it has opened my eyes even more when it comes to the well-being of my own family.

My Anti-Cable Rant

A fellow blogger here on the East Coast, Samster Mommy, recently wrote about the cancellation of All My Children.  At the end she posed the following question: "I’m curious, am I the only one who feels this way or have you been run over by the big guy?"  The following post is my response to her question.

Fishies or Animals?

 

So we decided to let Little E plan our day yesterday.  After sleeping in until 9:30 in the morning, we climbed in the car and headed towards Baltimore with the National Aquarium as our destination.  This was per her request to go see "nemos" in the morning.  For the record and to avoid any impending lawsuits, thanks to the Disney Corporation, all fish, including Goldfish crackers, are known as "nemos".  As we neared the wonderful city of Baltimore, I chose to ask our 2-year-old navigator if she wanted to see fishies or animals.  Her reply was of course: animals.  And just in the nick of time, too, because the next exit was the exit for the Maryland Zoo.

Sorry for the silence

Another schedule change this past week made it a little difficult to post, though I did manage to start a new one.  But another schedule change, now heading to night shift with my new phone and my Blogger app, so I should be able to get some writing done on my "lunch" breaks.  Look for new material soon!

Stop Staring!

OK, I’ve had it.  It’s time to set the record straight.  And I’m not being self-righteous here, either.  I’ve made this mistake in the past, and now I’m here to put a stop to it.  As you all know, I love Little E more than life itself.  The same goes for Mama Bird.  And it’s because of the two of them that I’m about to lose it on this particular subject.

Do you see that?

One of little E’s favorite sayings.  This was especially true on a recent trip to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.  As I stated on Facebook and Twitter, this was our second trip to this zoo since Little E joined us a little over 2 years ago.  In fact, she was less than a month old when we were there last.  that was a trip that included draping a blanket over the stroller so that our new bundle of joy didn’t get too much sun on her little body.  Needless to say, she slept pretty much the entire time we were there.  I guess it was more of a Mommy and Daddy trip to the zoo back then, mostly to get Mama Bird out of the house.  Now we can’t even get Little E to sleep during the one hour plus ride to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, or, as it turns out, the same length trip to the zoo, never mind her sleeping while we are in the facility.  But she doesn’t enjoy the trip any less, and it makes for a nice, peaceful car ride home.

Put me under!

Following is a transcript of a recent text message exchange with Mama Bird:

MB: I want to sign up to be a bone marrow donor, but I can’t because I don’t weigh enough.  You want me to sign you up?

Me: What does it involve?

MB: Nothing unless you’re a match, then just blood and marrow cells, all outpatient.

Me: How do they get the marrow cells?  Painfull?

MB: It says a needle in your pelvis.  It says 1 out of every 200 will actually donate and it requires 30 to 40 hours of your time if you are a match.  And you will be sent a packet to provide a cheek swab.

Me: Will an anesthesiologist be present?

No Respect

Father’s Day is Sunday, so I wanted to re-post this for anyone who didn’t get a chance to check it out on ChunkyMonkeyBumz last month.  Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Father’s Day is fast approaching and I realized this year that, as dads, we get no respect. It’s not that moms don’t deserve everything they get for Mother’s Day, but, I think, especially in this day and age, that dads deserve more. And my wife agrees. In fact, this exact topic was Mama Bird’s idea. Dads these days are more involved than ever before. I went to every single appointment my wife had while pregnant, even going so far as to take days off work or leave early. I was with her every step of the way. Sure, 30 years ago some dads did the same thing, but not in the numbers they are today. Dads were volunteer coaches back then, too, but today’s dad coach’s sports he never played and knows very little about because his kids want to play. Today’s dad goes to every sporting event, school play, musical, etc. that he can. Today’s dad stays home while mom works. Today’s dad cooks and cleans, shops for groceries, and drops the kids off at school. Today’s dad is Mr. Mom.

Knock knock…

I started this post and a few others in the last week.  Here’s the first of them, this one was started on Saturday:

When Little E was born, we disconnected our doorbell.  We did this because we had three dogs at the time, since then we’ve lost two and gained one, and we didn’t want the ringing doorbell to trigger barking that would wake Little E during her nap schedule.  However, the dogs now recognize the sound of knocking and threaten to attack even the slightest noise.  Not that they would inflict a whole lot of damage other than potentially rupturing an eardrum or two.  You see, they are big dogs in teeny-tiny little bodies, the larger of the two tipping the scale at a whopping eight pounds.  It’s gotten to the point that every time there’s a doorbell in a movie, we mark the time so as to be able to press the mute button to avoid the raucous.

Guest Post on ChunkyMonkeyBumz

Recently I was asked by a fellow blogger, who was originally directed to my breastfeeding post via Facebook, to do a Guest Post on her blog.  Well, today is the day that the new post went live.  The subject is Father's Day and I'm sure you will all enjoy the piece, I know I enjoyed writing it.

ChunkyMonkeyBums is a mom blog and also a product review and giveaway site.  Sabreena also makes and sells her own baby products.  Please check out her blog and enter some contests!  Thanks again, Sabreena!

Are You Kidding Me?

Before I even start this post, I need you all to go and read the following story, and please watch the videos, too: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/mom-year-daughter-botox-young-young/story?id=13580804

Tea for Two

So while even I await the launch of “something special” for Adventures in Da(d) ‘Hood, I’ll go ahead and fill the pages with some other stories and happenings from our life here in Central Pennsylvania.

What's the Big Idea?

I apologize for the lapse in posts, but I've come up with the greatest idea I've ever had.  What is it, you might ask?  Well, I'll never tell.  But I am taking the blog in a new direction.  I have to do this.  I will certainly still focus on parenting and talking from a father's perspective, but look for some expansion.  If you like what you read, please, click the Follow Me link to the right.  It would be best to follow by email, because, well, I'm really hoping this is all going to take off soon.  There will be more topics discussed, and trust me, any moms who are reading this are going to want to turn their husbands on to the blog, too.  As you may have noticed, I've changed the design again, so as to be more "dad-friendly".  You will see why before long.  I've got a lot of big ideas for this and I need your help out there in building a following in order to achieve my goal.  The more people the better, so tell your friends, and tell them to tell their friends.  I'm taking Adventures to a whole new level, and I hope you will follow.

Jared

Assumption is Ignorance

Recently a friend of my wife's that she grew up with suffered what I would call a devastating loss.  During the massive rainstorms last week, her house became flooded.  And we're not just talking a little water in one or two rooms, we're talking almost TWO FEET throughout the house.  Everything is ruined.  She also has two daughters, aged 4 and 7.  The girls lost all of their toys, their beds, books, games, stuffed animals, and so much more.  My wife posted on a local Yahoo! group a somewhat detailed list of what the girls had and what they like.  Unfortunately, we only got 2 responses, and this is my reaction.

Parental Stupidity: Ancestral or Societal?

I can't help but observe other parents when we are out and about.  The way some of them treat their children is shocking.  Some of them don't even watch their kids, just let them roam a store on their own.  Is it just me, or is this a serious problem?

Cloth Diapering Update

So it has now been three weeks since we have started using cloth diapers and things are going great!  We even feel like it's easier to cloth diaper than to use disposables.  We've also noticed that our trash container is not as full as it used to be when we set it out at the curb each Thursday night.  Probably the nicest thing about cloth diapering is that there have been no nasty rashes since the switch was made.  Stella is a happy little girl and that makes Mommy and Daddy very happy as well.  We're saving money by not buying boxes of diapers constantly, PLUS we're doing our part to help protect the planet.  We've been doing TONS of research regarding what might be the best brand to use and have now purchased 3 separate brands that we use regularly.

The Great Car Seat Debate

My apologies for not posting in a little while, but we've been busy.  But I'm back and I have a good topic that will hopefully raise some debate.  If you're anything like us, it already has.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released new recommendations for child seat safety guidelines.  I know that within our group of friends, small as it may be, there have been some relatively heated debates about this subject.  I'd like to tackle it publicly and welcome your comments at the end of this post.  And for those of you who have had these same debates with your friends, please send them this way, the more followers, the merrier.

Letter to Stella

Dear Stella,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Where have the last two years gone?

Breastfeeding? You must be STUPID!

No, that's not my opinion.  In fact, I used to secretly keep an eye on breastfeeding moms just in case.  I know, creepy, right.  But I'm nothing if not honest.  

My First Blog

Over the last several years, blogging has become quite the journalistic “phenomenon” so to speak.  Since its inception, I’ve always wanted to start my own blog.