Owner: Being Michael's Daddy URL:http://being-michaels-daddy.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:17:55 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A day-to-day chronicle of being daddy to Michael, the entirely unexpected son of a second-time married couple and their brand-new blended family. Site statistics:Click here
Not a Bad Kid 2008-06-01 10:22:00 I heard someone admonish his son the other day, saying "No! Bad boy!"This disturbs me. Does this guy actually believe his son really is bad? Probably not. What he probably meant is that what his son did was bad.There is a gigantic difference, and it makes all the difference how this is expressed to your child.It is absolutely essential to separate the child from his behavior in this kind of situat
Traditions 2008-06-04 12:16:00 I think families need traditions. I believe tradition is the mortar that bonds the bricks of family generations together into a structure that grows and lasts.I’ve tried to establish a few traditions in our new family from the beginning, with mixed success. My intentions are great, but my plans are half-baked at best. Memorial Day embraces one of those traditions, the annual beef “barbecue”.
The Manival 2008-06-03 20:09:00 While you're here, please go check out The Manival over at Building Camelot. Several of us very manly bloggers have posted some very manly stories and advice, the better to help you or a loved one man up.Manly-like.
Tales of the Sisters: The Peanut 2008-06-03 11:11:00 This past Sunday, Michael nonchalantly crammed some play-doh into his ear, and some more up his nose. Luckily his mom was on duty and reacted immediately. She dashed into the downstairs bathroom and emerged with tissues, an otoscope and curette. She’s well prepared for any and all emergencies. This is a critical attribute for being Michael’s Mommy (and for being Michael’s Daddy’s Wife). Mi Read more:Tales
, Sisters
, Peanut
Give Them A Loophole, They’ll Swim Through It. 2008-06-05 16:50:00 Another great utterance I hear coming out of parents’ mouths is that wonderful little disciplinary sentence tag “okay?”Like: “I need you to please be quiet, okay?” or “The dog doesn’t need Tabasco sauce on his Gravy Train, okay?” or “Don’t poke the baby with your fork anymore, okay?”Why do we do this?Is this meant as an attempt to get down and relate to their kids at their le
Check Out Discovering Dad 2008-06-06 23:31:00 Today, we at Being Michael's Daddy are honored to be featured in the Spotlight On Dads series over at Discovering Dad.Go take a look! For the first and only time, you'll get a chance to see Michael's Mommy and his sisters. You can't pass up that opportunity!While you're there, take a read at the other things going on there at Jeremy's site.See you there! Read more:Check
Quoth Michael (IV) 2008-06-09 12:00:00 Saturday afternoon, Michael
sees daddy chopping up vegetables and stuff for dinner. He starts pulling a chair up, when Michael’s Mommy stops him.Michael: Can I make with daddy?Michael’s Mommy: “Not right now, Michael. Daddy’s using sharp knives that can hurt you.”Michael, turning away sharply and walking into the living room: “I’m going away, mama. And I’m not going to give you any
Rays of Hope 2008-06-10 15:44:00 Just last Sunday, Michael pointed out that under his chair was a huge mess.“Yes, that’s true. It’s all things you dropped,” I pointed out.“I made the mess?”“Yes, and you should clean it up,” I continued.And then, without another word, he brought out the vacuum cleaner, turned it on, and cleaned up the mess under his chair.And there was much rejoicing.Note: in his zeal to capture th
Hungry Hungry Hippos and the Human Condition 2008-06-10 18:33:00 After dinner last night, Michael seized the opportunity to play with daddy since daddy was relatively free for the moment, but his mom was working and his sister was busy refining her character on Gaia Online (she’s been moping around the house for weeks now because Disney finally pulled the plug on their Virtual Magic Kingdom, so this is a welcome substitute).“Let’s play a game upstairs!” Read more:Hungry
, Condition
No title 2008-06-13 13:26:00 One particular aspect of myself that I rarely broadcast is the fact that I actually enjoy the smell of cigarette smoke. Not that stale, mordant smell that lingers behind in fabrics and ashtrays. I’m talking about the tangy, warm scent of a freshly lit cigarette. It always fills me with the feelings of warm, happy memories, even though I’ve never smoked and never will.I’m certain it is becaus
Happy Father's Day! 2008-06-15 09:34:00 Here's a shot of my dad, along with my older brothers and me, taken in 1972. We had relatively somber expressions as this particular dressed-up event was a funeral for one of my uncles. I had several uncles, and attended as many funerals. Not the happiest reason for having a get-together, but a part of life nonetheless.Fortunately my dad is still around and relatively healthy for a man his age, wh Read more:Happy
, Father
Checklist Redux 2008-06-17 13:02:00 I'd mentioned before that I have a checklist I go through with Michael each morning. This was an effort to help him remember what to do and what to avoid doing during his day at Ms K's.Like, don't flush stuff down the toilet, and don't yank the hardware out of the walls. Basic stuff like that.Well, he's been doing so well the last few months that I've dropped it entirely.Instead, he has a checklis Read more:Checklist
, Redux
Big Blue Taxi 2008-06-16 12:55:00 I’ve never been big on coming up with interesting stuff to do. It’s one of my greatest weaknesses. So providing interesting diversions for the kids while we’re driving them around is just not something I do well, if at all. I’ve typically left that up to my wife, claiming that I need to concentrate on my driving (which is true to an extent). But recently I did score a hit with a creative n
Father’s Day (observed) 2008-06-23 17:20:00 Since we didn’t have all the kids the weekend before last, my wife asked me whether we should postpone Father
’s Day observance until just this last weekend, and I agreed.And as far as I’m concerned, it was more than worth the wait.My first surprise was in the morning. Before the girls woke up, I was standing at the kitchen sink scrubbing a pan in preparation for breakfast, dreading the bi-we
Good Things 2008-06-21 15:59:00 Sometimes life hands you a cartload of lemons but offers no explanations. During those sour times it’s really easy to allow yourself to sink into discouragement and stay there. Sometimes you want to close up shop and head out of town.It’s not a fun thing for you, nor is it pleasant for those around you. A wise person I know once said “It’s awfully hard to feel sorry for someone when they
More Words 2008-06-20 09:42:00 "Mazageen" Ma' zuh geen - n. magazineQuote: "That's Squidward's mazageen." Noted during episode of SpongeBob in which he mistakenly opens Squidward's mail."Hostible" Hahs' tih bull - n. HospitalQuote: "Then I get sick and have to go to the hostible." During reaction to statement issued from parent about why Michael shouldn't eat the sausage that was on the floor all day."Wormer" Wer' mer - n. Worm Read more:Words
Burnin' Blubber 2008-06-18 18:48:00 I’m not a prize physical specimen. My wife loves me, which is very fortunate for me. My kids love me too, which is also fortunate. My daughter once told me she likes the big “pillow” I have in front, as it’s good for laying her head against when watching TV.The problem is, my being overweight is not a good thing for my long-term prospects. My health is already in question, what with high b
Dad's Words of Wisdom 2008-07-06 21:46:00 My daughters were here over the weekend.My older daughter spent most of her time with a friend, hanging out with her parents and the neighbors doing the fourth of July stuff and then spending time at this friend's birthday.As I only have them every other weekend and one or two nights a week, I tend to be really wistful whenever I have to take them back to their moms. I usually spend the trip back Read more:Words
, Wisdom
The Big Con Job 2008-07-03 10:27:00 This past weekend, Michael’s Mommy and I went to the extreme heights of social relations by actually entertaining actual friends in our home. And by friends I mean people other than immediate or incidental family members. The festivities would include hors d’oeuvres, dinner, Hawaiian music and tropical drinks out on our incredibly amazing patio; the one festooned with random cheerful lights an
The Manival 10 2008-07-01 08:13:00 Over at the Art Of Manliness is a great blog carnival where lots of us manly bloggers issue our manifestos on exactly what it takes to be a man.Check out The Manival today. Included in this rogue's gallery is yours truly, blathering on about his attempts to cook meat on fire out of doors.Bring your own beer.
Daddy is Clueless 2008-06-30 11:30:00 The scene: Michael’s Daddy
has come into the house from the garage after finishing some yard work, and absent-mindedly left the door open. Daddy sits down to eat lunch, Michael comes over to investigate.Michael: “Daddy, the door is open.”Daddy: “Yes it is”Michael: “Can I shut the door?”Daddy: “Yes you may.”(30 seconds of silence.)Daddy: “Are you going to shut it?”Michael: “ Read more:Clueless
You Can Call Me Hal 2008-06-26 11:14:00 For at least a year now, Michael had been sporting an amazing new super power: Extreme Bad Breath. And he’s fully aware of this fact, because he takes great pleasure in turning around and blasting me with it whenever I hold him up close by my face. If I happen to catch a whiff of it, it’s impossible not to react. “Whoa, Michael! Your breath reeks!” I say, rearing back and turning away from
Fleeting Moments 2008-06-25 10:54:00 Another gorgeous afternoon.Michael convinced his mom to come outside and play with him. After spending some time at his sand table followed by drowning a few plants, Michael decided it was time to blow bubbles.Around this time I came outside to be with them, and to soak up the warmth and fresh air I'd been missing for so many months.Then Michael's Mommy began a new game: Catch The Bubble. She'd bl Read more:Moments
Highlights from a Birthday Dinner 2008-07-22 13:40:00 Recently it was Michael’s Mommy’s birthday. I took her out to a local seafood restaurant for lobster, as it is very tasty and what she yearns for most, foody-wise. Since Michael is our own and does not have the pleasure of changing parental venue from time to time as his sisters do, he came along with us. I explained to him, up close and personal-like, that he would need to be very good in the Read more:Highlights
, Birthday
, Dinner
Tales of the Sisters: Mad Cow Disease 2008-07-19 12:30:00 Many years ago, in the dim and blurred age before Michael came along to complete the family, I had weekends where I dealt with my two daughters as a single dad.My ex-wife and I had recently separated and were occupying either side of a duplex. We called it our "half way house." It was a reasonable solution to keeping the kids together with both parents until we could figure out a more suitable res Read more:Tales
, Sisters
Would You Like Cheese On That? 2008-07-16 13:26:00 Michael and I are in the car, driving over to get Michael's sisters."I need a tissue! I gots burgers in my nose," Michael reports."Burgers? You have burgers?""Yeah, I gots burgers, and when you have to blow your nose, cause when you cry you gets burgers in your nose and then the burgers come out and so you have to blow your nose so that's a good plan," he says.Burgers.Okay then. And all this time, Read more:Cheese
That's My Boy! 2008-07-14 15:28:00 An adventuresome Saturday, despite lack of sleep on everyone's part.We decided to go to OMSI, the local science museum. Aside from the usual fare of Van de Graff generators, liquid nitrogen displays, robots and exhibits on various body parts, they were hosting the special "Dinosaurs!" exhibit.I'm not a big fan of dinosaurs. Sure, they stomped around the world a few gazillion years ago, and we thin
But Wait! There's More! 2008-07-12 20:19:00 Presumably in an effort to top his exploits from earlier in the week, last night Michael performed a spectacular nighttime sleep deprivation extravaganza.His grandmother and cousin A are here visiting, while grandma works at an antiques exposition held here every year.Having had a particularly rough day at Ms K's (getting put into time out multiple times for multiple offenses, which included mashi
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