Parenthood

- - - | written by Kim on 6/17/2010 | - - -

The Best Gift Ever (and Why It’s So Hard To Give)

What's the best gift you can give someone? Gold? Gift Certificates? Ghirardelli? The real answer? TIME. Time has really been on my mind lately because it's such a limited resource. And no one, not even the most acclaimed inventor has figured out a way to create more of it. The other crazy thing about time is that we don't know how much of it we have to work with. Some get 96 years, others get 6. Simply put (as cliche as it sounds): it's priceless. We know this cognitively, but our actions don't reflect this knowledge. …

- - - | written by Jason on 5/16/2010 | - - -

Life Will Be Easier When…

Ever find yourself saying, “Life will be easier when...”? If you’re a parent, you can fill in the blank mighty easily. Life will be easier when... ...he can sleep through the night. ...she can feed herself. ...he can tell us where it hurts. ...she goes to school. ...he makes it to the NBA and buys me a ginormous house in Hawaii. This is a diabolical game that Adultitis likes us to play, because it gets us wishing away time, distracts us from the present, and keeps us focused on the negative. …

- - - | written by Kim on 5/5/2010 | - - -

The Amazingly Stupendous Do-Over

Remember the "do-over" in childhood? Often applied to a "too close to call" play in a childhood game, do-overs were often used liberally by kids who hated to lose. Lucy called for a do-over this morning. She woke up early and crabby (or as I like to call her, "sensitive.") She was touch-and-go about everything. The day ahead was looking like it was going to be an inevitably rough series of battles. I decided to take her out with me to run a few quick errands, just to get her out and change the scenery. On the way home from our short adventures, I looked in my rearview mirror to find a …

- - - | written by Jason on 4/25/2010 | - - -

Busyness Is Killing Us (Or Why We Should All Take Up Fishing)

I was talking to a friend the other day who works as a youth minister for a church. I asked him what the biggest issues the teens in his community are dealing with. His answer came quickly. “Drugs,” he said. He detailed the overwhelming prevalence of prescription drugs, and went on to tell me stories about “Skittles parties," in which everyone comes with an assortment of pills pilfered from medicine cabinets. They are thrown into a bowl, and each partygoer swallows a handful and “sees what happens.” Of course this creates a conundrum for EMTs, because if a kid overdoses or has a …

- - - | written by Jason on 2/17/2010 | - - -

Life’s Little Traffic Jams

[This post originally appeared on Dad-O-Matic, a cool site for Dads, by Dads.] We bought our daughter one of those little primary-colored push car toys for her first birthday. It gets great gas mileage and holds up amazingly well in crashes, of which there have been many so far. The other day, she got herself caught in a traffic jam. The legs of our counter-height kitchen table and its accompanying chairs gridlocked her into a standstill. With all the might a one-year-old can muster, she pushed and prodded that car in an attempt to break free to the open road. To no avail. …

- - - | written by Jason on 1/31/2010 | - - -

Open Letter to Alton Brown (and Dads Everywhere)

I recently got a copy of Good Eats: The Early Years by Alton Brown. To paraphrase Ron Burgundy, if you don’t think it’s the greatest show on television, I will fight you. As a Food Network junkie, I dig Alton’s quirky, fun, no-nonsense style. Between writing books, filming Good Eats, hosting Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef, and appearing in all kinds of Welch’s commercials, he certainly seems to have a lot of burners lit. As I perused the acknowledgements, I came across his thoughts regarding his 10-year-old daughter: “I especially want to thank Zoey for putting up with all the late …

- - - | written by Jason on 1/20/2010 | - - -

The First Year of Fatherhood: One Dad’s Review

Well, we did it. My wife and I made it to the one-year mark. (Oh, and so did Lucy.) The first two weeks seemed like a millennium, the last fifty seemed like a millisecond. So, what have I learned, if anything? • It sounds so dang cliché to say, “It’s harder than I imagined, but better than I imagined.” It may be cliche, but is it ever true. • I’m still trying to figure out what a “normal” schedule should be. I’m never quite sure I’m spending time correctly. I feel like I’m still trying to get in a groove. It seems like I should have it figured out by now. I also get the feeling that …

- - - | written by Jason on 9/25/2009 | - - -

Adultitis Free Parenthood #3: Traveling with a Baby

- - - | written by Jason on 9/9/2009 | - - -

7 Ways Fantasy Football Can Make You a Better Dad

Summer is winding down, the kids are back in school, and the long, bleak, football hiatus is almost over. If you’re a fantasy football nut, you already know that this is one of the most exciting times of the year. You know the thrill of channeling your inner Jerry Jones in order to take your shot at building a team for the ages, proving once and for all that should you be offered the opportunity, you’d have what it takes to be among the NFL’s top brass. What you may not have known, however, is that fantasy football can make you a better Dad. Even though the WAFS (Women Against Fantasy …

- - - | written by Jason on 2/5/2009 | - - -

Adultitis-Free Parenthood #2

We're back with our series on parenting, designed to be as candid as it is low-budget, and providing you with fresh insights on living life with less stress and more fun, whether you are a parent or not. This episode we talk about how the busyness of life can keep you from documenting treasured memories. We share some inexpensive tips for easily preserving your favorite moments. [flv:http://www.kimandjason.dreamhosters.com/clubkj_stuff/parenthood/002-Parenthood.flv 450 325] iPod Version (39 MB) …

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