A couple of weeks ago, we had to buy some shoes for Danni. Danni is now old enough that she wants to pick her own shoes. She is HUGE fan of the Disney Princesses and Tinkerbell. Target had some Disney Princess and Dora shoes in her size on clearance. She went with the Disney Princess …
Continue reading TWSS: Disney would be proudJanuary 2009
You are browsing the site archives for January 2009.
Ahhh, technology! As a geek dad I am proud to be totally on top of the tech toys my kids are growing up with as their default accessories. In fact, what us older gadget guys consider “toys” are hardly noticed as anything special by our kids. They don’t know of anything but a world filled …
Continue reading Txting Words Of EncouragementI was scanning Twitter last night as I often do when there is nothing much to watch on the idiot box. As I was scrolling through the main stream of all the people I follow I came across an absolute gem. Robb Vaules – @infobahn, shared a quote from his son – “Quote of the …
Continue reading A Hero To SquirrelsOK, my brothers. When you was solo and needed to get some, you knew the drill. High rep light curls at the gym. New shirt and shave. Slap on some smellgood. Aaawwwww, yeeeaaa. Wassat? Things have changed? The old tricks don’t inspire business time the way they used to, you say? Well pull up a …
Continue reading The Married Man's AphrodisiacThe Bush twins wrote a beautiful letter for the Obama girls filled with wonderful advice on how to make the most of their childhood in the Whitehouse and most of all to always remember who their dad really is. Right now everything is incredibly positive and everyone loves their daddy but there will be rough …
Continue reading Still Just a DadWelcome to my regular Friday feature, Worst of the Week. As a white, suburbanite husband and dad of two kids, there’s a lot that can go wrong and this entry is all about how to fix it. I hope you enjoy it! I wrote a few weeks back that my daughter Erin (6) was having …
Continue reading Worst of the Week: Homework Time – An UpdateNow why would Dad-o-matic cover something called the Mom Song? Well, first, because it’s a hilarious and spot-on look at the work that our better half does on a daily basis. Of course, many fathers are Mr. Moms so they can really relate to this song too. I think it’s also applicable to the job …
Continue reading The Mom Song VideoMy wife and I have five children. None are adopted, none are from other marriages, none are the products of multiple births. Just five kids, each born separately to us over the space of about 13 years. In the time and place where I grew up (suburban Cleveland in the 1970s and 80s), this would …
Continue reading Having a Large FamilyI should explain. Firstly, please permit me to introduce Beetle, 9 weeks old and the latest arrival at Dungeekin Towers. Now, I have a game I play with Dungeekin Minor when he stays with us at weekends – with much growling, I tell him I’m going to ‘eat his ears’. Cue screaming, laughter and chasing …
Continue reading Quote of the MonthA couple of months ago, Danni started retaining information. This does not seem like a big deal but it is. This went beyond her name and age. Danni can hold conversations. Although sometimes she has a little attitude attached with it. A common question Danni gets is her name and age. Most of the time, …
Continue reading TWSS: Day After InaugurationRodney Atkins’ “I’ve Been Watching You” is one of my favorite songs for many reasons. One of them is because my six year-old loves singing it at the top of his lungs while watching the video with me. The other reason is because it’s a wonderful song for parents because it brings home the message …
Continue reading Monkey See, Monkey DoI saw this photo on the Chicago Tribune‘s Web site today, taken this morning by AP photographer Susan Walsh and couldn’t help but think that of all the heaps of congratulations our new president will get today, as a father, nothing will probably mean more to him than this.
Continue reading The Ultimate Dad Photo From Today's InaugurationA few months ago, I took some artistic license with a popular online video to create “Dude to Dad (Changing More Than Just Diapers) feat. Barack Obama.” For me, it was a rally cry for a new generation of dads. My hope was was that it might lead to “change” and I thought that was …
Continue reading Dude to Dad in ChiefOur daughter Katie has been through some serious pet angst. She loves animals, but at the same time she loathes being licked or chased. She gets along with the cat because the cat requires nothing of her, and she only has to deal with him for a few moments at a time. We are animal …
Continue reading Kids and Pets … a Study in Patience Pays OffI don’t know about you, but the older I get the harder it is for me to keep my mouth shut.  It seems I have an opinion about everything and I almost always feel compelled to share it.  I may be able to chalk it up to being older and wiser, but it still doesn’t …
Continue reading Learning To Bite Your TongueI’ve heard recently about a couple I know who are having some difficulties, the main cause is that they never take breaks away from their kids. I am the world’s number one fan of my little ones, they seriously rock. They are also 2 and 3 (11.5 months apart), so they can be a touch …
Continue reading Take A BreakThis has been bugging me for quite a while now. I figure the best place for me to air it out would be this forum. Now, my wife and I are repeatedly told that our children (Maddie is 10 and Joey is 7) are well behaved, polite, and fun to have around when ever they …
Continue reading Why do parents judge?Welcome to my regular Friday feature, Worst of the Week. As a white, suburbanite husband and dad of two kids, there’s a lot that can go wrong and this entry is all about how to fix it. I hope you enjoy it! Except for a few minor homework issues, Patrick and Erin were good all …
Continue reading Worst of the Week: A Helping HandToday is the day you just sit back and say “How in the heck did that happen?!†It’s hard to escape the story of the US Airways plane that went down in the Hudson River yesterday and the remarkable activity that surrounds it. The more I read and hear about it the less inclined I …
Continue reading When The News Provides a Teachable MomentHello Readers. I am Joey Parshley and its been 3 moths since my last (and first) post. Things have been really busy and I have not been able to post as much as I wanted. Hopefully I will be able to post more frequently. Well, as many of us have been experiencing, I was laid …
Continue reading A Laid off parent is ALWAYS gainfully employed.I learned a few days ago that a good friend of mine did something for his son that almost moved me to tears, on the spot. As an infant, he got him his own GMail account. Of what use is such a thing to persons lacking control of basic bodily functions, you ask? Well, my …
Continue reading Why Your Infant Needs GMailIn our house hold, Danni has started telling us what she wants to do. She has been doing it for awhile but it has become more urgent. “Who wants to go to school?” “I do, I do, I do” is how Danni responds to everything. “Who loves Mommy?” “I do, I do, I do” You …
Continue reading TWSS: I do, I do, I doThe Government are frequently heard to proclaim that ‘families’ are the most important thing in life. We all know that a stable family environment is good for the development of happy children. We also know the statistics – that children in Local Authority Care tend to perform less well in school, garner fewer qualifications and …
Continue reading Too Fat to Love?If you are a parent, you have probably experienced some variation of “take your child to work day” – you know, the one where your son or daughter tags along to the office and you plop them down in front of a computer and hope and pray they will be able to occupy themselves with …
Continue reading Bring Your Work To Kids Day!Welcome to my regular Friday feature, Worst of the Week. As a white, suburbanite husband and dad of two kids, there’s a lot that can go wrong and this entry is all about how to fix it. I hope you enjoy it! Here in Detroit in December between the Big 3 having to go beg …
Continue reading Worst of the Week: The Cost of the Detroit Free PressWhat do people do when you have an older kid and a younger kid in the house, and the older kid wants to consume media that messes with the younger kid? That’s the issue at hand in the Star Wars Dilemma. I’m wondering if you’ve had this happen at your house. My daughter is 6.5 …
Continue reading The Star Wars DilemmaAs any parent can tell you, once your kid starts walking and talking, you get little to no privacy. This is especially true when it comes to bathroom breaks. My wife tells me that she has not taken a bathroom break with the door closed in 2 years. The other day Chelsea went to the …
Continue reading TWSS: Let Me Ask You A QuestionEvery night we put our daughter Katie up on the big bed where Trish and I sleep. She gets her hair braided to keep it from tangling in the night. Billy (15) lays across the end of the bed, and Stephanie (18) comes in to sit at the foot of the bed. While Trish fixes …
Continue reading Beware of the Stories of Your Childhood. Seriously.Some of you might know the name of blogger Dave Armano – he has a vast social network, is a regular contributor to AdAge and a frequent speaker at interactive and social media conferences. Tonight, I watched Dave do something pretty amazing. With a short blog post and a tweet to alert the thousands folks …
Continue reading Digital Storytelling Gets a Boost from Dave ArmanoI am at the edge. I am on the precipice. I am at the point of no return (or Know return for you Kansas fans). I am the father of a soon to be 12 year old daughter. She’s pretty. She’s smart. She’s developing (ugh, writing that was disturbing). As a result I am starting …
Continue reading The Great Daddy – Daughter DivideMy kids like television… a lot. Sometimes I worry (as do many of you) about the amount of TV that they consume. I especially become concerned when their little eyes glaze over as the hypnotic TV trance brainwashes them into encouraging me to purchase Aquaglobes or Debbie Meyer Green Bags, or they reenact entire seasons …
Continue reading Imagination DayThis past weekend we gathered the clan in the family room and plugged in the new comedy from Dreamworks, Kung Fu Panda. This film features the voice talents of a star-studded cast, Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan, to name a few. In our family, we like to find a film every …
Continue reading Kung Fu Panda – a Family Movie With a MesageBe careful what you wish for… you might get it.  I always wished my rockstar son would keep his room clean.  Invariably, whenever I walked by and heard his guitar playing and opened the door I regretted the mess I saw.   Now his room is clean.  It is more than clean, it is practically empty. …
Continue reading How Do You Cope When Your Kids Flee The Coop?I just came back from having a few drinks with a close friend. We didn’t know each other five years ago – we met when our oldest children were in kindergarten together – and have managed to build a strong friendship since then. It always amazes me how difficult it is to form close friendships …
Continue reading Is My Marriage Solid?About Two years ago, when I was out shopping, I ran across an amazing rocking unicorn. If you squeezed its ear, it came to life. The head bobbed, the mouth moved, and it made horse sounds. There was the clip-clop of hooves and a good, spirited neigh. I was captivated by the thought of my …
Continue reading Rocking Unicorns : A Cautionary Tale