As the Cast of Dads gathered for our Holiday show, we shared our collective sadness and thoughts on the terrible tragedy in Newtown Connecticut, and how we’ve been discussing the events with our kids.  Since we’re dads of kids from toddler to the 20’s we have different circumstances and thus different approaches to how to address the …
Continue reading Talking About Tragedy: Cast of Dads Episode 55Holidays
Father’s Day is around the corner, but as both a dad and a son, I know (and I know that YOU know) that fatherhood has little to do with one “hallmark” day in June.  While it is nice to set aside some dedicated time to celebrate paternity with pride, it is also important to remember that truly, …
Continue reading 5 Things That Shouldn’t Wait For Father’s DayIn the holiday spirit of giving, this is a quick update to my post about Ultrabooks.  I mentioned that my Cast of Dads cohort, Michael Sheehan (@HighTechDad) and I would be presenting a chance for one of you to get an Ultrabook, courtesy of Intel, the driving force behind the Ultrabook platform.  Here are the details: You can …
Continue reading A Chance For You To Be An Ultrabook Dad (or Mom)Influence is a decided buzz word, as is “influencers.” Â Many of us get caught up with the number of followers and on-line friends we have… we judge our online worth by our Klout scores, and re-tweets and blog comments. Â But today is the day to honor someone who is a true influencer… someone who, as …
Continue reading The Ultimate Influencer: Dad’s Got Klout!It is June. Notable for the official start of summer, hurricane season (for those of us, like me, based in South Florida) and of course, Father’s Day. Like many dads, I am both a father and a son, roles that are intimately intertwined. We are all someone’s children, and as such we assume that who …
Continue reading The Real Father’s Day GiftAs 2010 and another year (and decade) wind down, the Cast of Dads got together to squeeze in one last show for the year.  In this eposide you will hear about CC making bacon, Max blowing off some steam, Michael musing over MacAllan, Brad blowing glass, and me… ? Well, you’ll just have to listen to …
Continue reading Happy New Year From The Cast of Dads! (and Dadomatic)I grumbled when my 8-year-old wanted me to take her to one of those tree-cutting places. I grumbled more when the woman said it was $60 for the privilege of doing all the labor ourselves. I’d set out to buy a Charlie Brown Christmas tree (you know the type, right?), and I couldn’t see myself …
Continue reading Happy Holidays And Tree-Cutting‘Tis the season when red and green are the new black, and the “holiday spirit” permeates all things commercial and otherwise. Â If you are politically correct, then almost all salutations, spoken, written, or otherwise are readily sprinkled with “HAPPY HOLIDAYS.” Â If you are politically direct, then, at least this week, it is “MERRY CHRISTMAS.” Â I …
Continue reading Will The Real Santa Please Stand Up?The Turkey bones are bare, the stuffing has left your guests stuffed and the stuffed guests have left your house.  The television is free to be tuned to programming other than football and you are free to go back to the old grind…  Work. School. Life. Why Does Thanks Need A Day? The family focus of …
Continue reading Don’t Stop…If you awaken to a house full of noisy kids… be thankful. If you are tired because you spent half the night feeding and rocking an infant to sleep… be thankful. If you are late for work because you walked your son or daughter to the bus stop and the bus never showed… be thankful. …
Continue reading If You Can Read This… Be Thankful!Boo!  It’s Halloween, the day when pumpkins prevail, werewolves and witches win, and ghosts are all good!  While the commercialism of this hallowed eve has certainty grown over the years, with everyone seemingly looking to scare up some Halloween business, it still remains one of the most pure FUN days of the year.  What was mostly a …
Continue reading 5 Last Minute Tips For A Happy Halloween“Instead of enjoying her company over the holiday weekend, I’ll be waving good-bye to her as my mother takes her to California for a dance competition.” A Dad carves a moment out of his morning to spend some time with his busy girl.
Continue reading Loving the Little MomentsIt is Independence Day but I find myself considering “independence” in more ways than the birth of our nation. Having recently gone through both a High School and a College graduation with my kids, lately their independence has been on my mind. Â So, to celebrate parenthood on the 4th of July, here is a quick …
Continue reading 10 Milestones In Your Child’s Path To IndependenceIt is Father’s Day, and if you’ve been lazy, busy, or just procrastinating way too long I have good news for you. There is still plenty of time to give the best Father’s Day Gift ever, and here’s how: If you are in the same city, go see your dad. Give him a hug – …
Continue reading The Absolute BEST Last Minute Father’s Day Gift!Everyone loves a gift that keeps on giving…something that will be used frequently and thus serve as a lasting reminder of the occasion and the gift giver.  The best way to find a perpetual gift for dad is to take a look at things that are part of his everyday routine.  Get dad a gift he will …
Continue reading A Routine Gift For Father’s Day…An Alarming Situation Like most dads (and humans for that matter) I generally go to sleep at night and rely on mechanical assistance to wake myself up at the desired hour each and every morning. With that in mind I have been forever in search of the perfect alarm clock.  I have tried them all – …
Continue reading A Father’s Day Gift For The DASHing Dad! (and a chance to win one)If you are a procrastinator like me I have good news for you. Â In fact I have GREAT news for you! Â Mother’s Day is Sunday yet there is still time to send your Mom, or any Mom you love and respect, a heartfelt gift that will honor her, and provide much needed aid to a …
Continue reading A Mother’s Day Gift That Keeps On Giving: To Mama With LoveIt is Easter Sunday and I am sitting in a Starbucks reading and writing (fortunately, there is no arithmetic.)  The only signs of Easter here are the bunny ears my caffeine wielding Barista wears, fully qualifying her as an official “Bar-Easter.”  Instead of popping handfuls of Cadbury Mini Chocolate Eggs and biting the heads off of hollow …
Continue reading An Eggcellent Day To Be Silly (Or Remember When…) The Cast of Dads could not resist getting together to record one last podcast for 2009.  Certainly one of our highlights of the year was getting together because of the Sony DigiDad Project, and we have been having a lot of fun sharing our stories and just “shooting the breeze” together ever since in …
Continue reading Cast of Dads 4: Happy New Year (and Making it to Midnight!)Continuing on my first post here at Dad-O-Matic, I’ve created a blog that will be used for my family to stay in touch with my in-laws during Christmas.
Continue reading Creating a Virtual ChristmasThis holiday season, my daughter asked for a plush kitty. My boy asked for anything Thomas. That’s it. Know why? The picture is pretty much the reason. My kids don’t get a steady input of toy ads so as such, they don’t really seem to have as many interests in such. Now, I used to …
Continue reading The Best Thing I Ever DidThe “Cast of Dads” is back for our last recording before the Christmas Holiday, and it’s a doozy. Somehow our Holiday chatter leads us from the manly to the metro-sexual.  In this episode we discuss: Snow Days Holiday Gifts We Want Mustaches Massages and Massage Envy Guys like the spa too Pedicures? Really? Daddy Spa …
Continue reading Cast of Dads Podcast Episode 3: Mustaches, Massages & Man Purses!Distance makes the holidays difficult but technology can help shrink that distance and bring families together.
Continue reading Shrink the Distance with Family During the Holidays.Thanks to technology, our kids are growing up in an amazing time. Homework assignments that I would have had to use construction paper, crayons and Elmer’s Glue to complete are now being accomplished with laptops and PowerPoint.  Stacks of papers and notebooks have been replaced by files on key chain sized USB drives.  Those are just …
Continue reading How A Social Media Guru Helped My Son With His HomeworkPreface: As a believer in Christ and one who celebrates a traditional American Christmas, this commentary is for readers who also celebrate the traditional American Christmas. My comments may not resonate with you other wise, and you may even find yourself disagreeing with me on certain points. This is what I believe, and would like …
Continue reading Setting Christmas ExpectationsIt’s that time of year. The holidays, Christmas, Chanukah and more are celebrated. Bright lights, holy symbols, and wintery decorations galore. It’s also become the season where folks no longer greet people with naming the holiday. Parenting is tough. There are tons of things you want to teach your children. Tolerance should be at the …
Continue reading Happy What?We are in that awkward time between Thanksgiving, and New Year’s, when the various “Holy Days” (a.k.a. Holidays) kick in.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or some other seasonal ritual, one thing is certain, you will be inundated with the commercialism of the season.  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, mauling at the mall, the …
Continue reading Happy Melancholy-days! Five Reasons NOT To Be A Scrooge This Year!If you are a parent, you should have no trouble looking for things to be thankful for this holiday season. Â You need look no further than your children. While parenthood is full of stress, challenges and worries, it is also rich with rewards. Â Yet, with all the hustle and bustle of a home full of …
Continue reading Ten Reasons To Be Thankful For Your Kids At ThanksgivingI am always on the look out for stupid holidays. When I was younger, before kids, this was a reason to drink. Not that I need a reason but I digress. Now I look for these “holidays” as a reason to have fun with my daughter.  July 7 according to TWiP was Father Daughter …
Continue reading July 7 was Father Daughter Take a Walk Together DayWhen thinking about what to get my kids for the holidays I always try to put myself in their shoes and remember the gifts I received and how I felt about them when I was their age.  As kids grow up, the things that constitute a good gift may change dramatically, and as parents we …
Continue reading How To Give Good Gift!As I begin my first blog post with Dad-O-Matic, first I just want to welcome you the reader, and acknowledge my fellow Dad-O-Matic bloggers, as well as Chris Brogan and Paisono. Without them we wouldn’t have this awesome community of parents. Some background about me, I am a happily married husband of 11 years, and …
Continue reading Christmas TraditionBy Danny Guspie This is my personal story and journey. The first year that that my wife and I were separated was by far the most difficult Christmas ever. At the time, I was a working dad as well as full-time single dad, and my olive branch gesture was to send the kids to my …
Continue reading Divorce and Kids during Christmas, Holidays can be GREAT!This post is a sponsored post on behalf of Kmart via Izea. The opinions are mine. I have to admit that I haven’t stepped foot in a Kmart for a while, like probably since before they merged up with Sears. But this assignment was totally worth it. Basically, the plan was this: take a $500 …
Continue reading Sponsored Post-Kmart Holiday Shopping Dad StylePhone Home! In this age of email, text and instant messages, it is easy to forget the power of your voice. It is easy to forget the simplicity and impact of a phone call. We are spoiled by the instant connections we make online. Spoiled by the ability to tell the world what we are …
Continue reading ET Had It Right: Phone Home!The dads from Dad-o-Matic want to wish everyone and their loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving! With all the tough times going on right now, we should all be extra thankful for all the blessings in our lives. Let’s also do what we can to help others this time of year as well as throughout the …
Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving from Dad-o-Matic