Month: March 2014

The Incredible Costs of Daycare

7 Comments
Her laughs and personality are starting to shine through.

Her laughs and personality are starting to shine through.

If you’re anything like my family, you have bills to pay, childcare to pay for, vehicle payments, housing costs, and more money flowing from your wallet every month. For a lot of people, that’s A LOT of money. The same goes for us. We have our fair share of bills and we understand that’s the way the world works. But, I’m going to be honest with you, before we had kids, I never realized just how expensive it was to put your children into daycare. And the costs keep rising. It truly amazed me to learn about the costs. It’s one of the reasons that I decided not to look for a new job when Sophia was born. I had been laid off a month before she was born. And, it made the most sense for me to stay home, rather than spend a big chunk of that income on daycare. Continue reading →

Why? Why? Why? The Unanswerable Question

2 Comments
"Why? "is the question of the year 'round these parts.

“Why? “is the question of the year ’round these parts.

Long before I became a dad, I had many run-ins with the phrase “because I said so.” I hated when I’d hear it. Despised it, even. I promised myself that I’d never be that dad that used that phrase. And then, the “Why?” stage hit. All bets were off.

Continue reading →

Parenting’s More Fun With Friends

6 Comments
Some of my best friends, well before any of us were dads...

Some of my best friends, well before any of us were dads…

Has anyone ever told you that your life changes when you have kids? Oh, they have? Okay, I just needed to be sure that you were aware of this. It’s a funny thing, finding out you’re going to be a parent. Terrifying, even. You find out that in nine short months, you’re going to have this little life to care for, to nurture, to raise, to guide, to teach, to love.

You’ve never taken care of anything before in your life, save for a pet, most likely. So, what do you do? You read, you talk to other parents, and, really, you figure it out as you go. You realize that you and your spouse aren’t alone in this parenting game. For us, we’ve had the joys of having a good number of our best friends have kids in the same time that we’ve had Sophia and Maddie. Actually, almost all of my best buddies from college have kids now. Continue reading →

Dad is Fat – Time to Shed Some Pounds

Leave a comment

T25_Challenge_Packs_hi_resSince I got out of college, my weight has been a constant struggle for me. Multiple times a year, I get on a weight-loss tangent. Which is great. What isn’t so great? Sticking with it! Seriously, I have tried every workout program out there, from P90X and P90X2 to Insanity and T25. I make it a month or so through it, am seeing results and then BAM, the train screeches to a halt. Not this time, my friends. right now, daddy is too fat and a change is in order! Continue reading →

The Fat Five Slamwich #FrozenChefMadness

Leave a comment

Fat-Five-SlamwichWho doesn’t love amazing apps when they settle in to watch all the madness unfold during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament games? Everybody loves them. But what if you could have all of your mouthwatering starters in one fantastic dish? I’m giving you just that with my entry into the #FrozenChefMadness challenge presented by Life of Dad and Easy Home Meals.

I present to you “The Fat Five Slamwich”! A crispy combination of mozzarella sticks, french fries, chicken tenders, sitting nestled atop a delectable cheesteak. This all sits nicely inside a halved Italian roll. He fakes right, crosses over left, takes it to the hole and SCORES with the Fat Five Slamwich!

photo(2)For my dish, I chose to use Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Fast Food Fries, Tyson Anytizers Chicken Fries, and TGI Fridays Mozzarella Sticks.

Head over to the Frozen Chef Madness contest page to enter, read full instructions, and get your chance to win $800! Do you have what it takes to top me? Step up to the line and sink your shot!

I have partnered with Life of Dad, LLC for the#FrozenChefMadness promotion.  Sponsored by NFRA ( https://www.nfraweb.org/), the #FrozenChefMadness promotion gives anybody the chance to win a $800 Visa gift card.

Oh The Things They’ll Say

1 Comment
The living situation Sophia dreamed up while driving home as told through MS Paint

The living situation Sophia dreamed up while driving home as told through MS Paint.

Everybody knows that kids come up with some of the most insane things to say. The way their minds work is astounding. I mean, I say some ridiculous things, but the stuff that comes out of their mouths is pure gold. Gold, I tell ya!

Well, Sophia had quite the observation while I drove her home from daycare a couple of weeks ago. You can see the AMAZING illustration I made of said observation on the right there. Below is what she said, word-for-word.

Sophia: that’s my house (pointing to a giant house that isn’t ours)!

Me: Oh is it??

Sophia: Yeah. I live there. With Maddie. And Mommy. And Dubsy. Not you.

Me: I don’t live with you??

Sophia: No, you live there (points to a much smaller house down the road) with a dolphin.

Me: I live with a dolphin???!?

Sophia: Yes, you live with the dolphin and swim with him.

Oh the things toddlers come up with… She later decided I’m allowed to live with her.

I’m going to be writing and documenting more of the insane stuff that comes out of Sophia’s mouth, and hopefully I’ll be able to do the same once Maddie starts talking, too.

Let me know the ridonculous things that your kids have said below! Or on Facebook or Twitter!

How I Duped Mommy into Liking Me

8 Comments
Sarah and I on our first Christmas together in 2001.

Sarah and I on our first Christmas together in 2001.

This year is a benchmark year for Sarah and I. We’ll have our fifth wedding anniversary in May. I know, I know, five years isn’t long in the grand scheme of things, especially when you consider that we’ve been together since November of 2001. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. In light of our coming anniversary and with Valentine’s Day just passed, I figured now would be a great time to share–for you, and for Sophia and Maddie–the story of how I basically duped Sarah into liking me.  Continue reading →

The Sweet Taste of Victory – #FrozenChefMadness Challenge

Leave a comment
Finding food Sophia will eat can be a challenge.

Finding food Sophia will eat can be a challenge.

Anyone that knows me can attest to this: I am competitive. VERY competitive. Am I any good at sports? Big fat no to that one, dear readers. Even so, I hate to lose. My competitiveness also comes into play in a big way when it comes to rooting for sports. I’m a diehard Philadelphia sports fan, and if you aren’t, you’re a fan of someone else, we’ll end up having words. Nothing beats some friendly sports banter! With this time of year, one of the best sports months of the year is about to be upon us. I talk, of course, about the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tourney. Tourney time is awesome. Cinderella stories abound, underdogs become the most rooted for teams, and game-watching parties are planned and attended.

When it comes to settling in on the couch for a long day of watching hoops–or any game for that matter–food plays a HUGE part. Now, as a parent, I have to be mindful of the food that we’re going to make and eat for a game. And, with Sophia being quite the picky eater, we have to be extra careful of what we’re putting together. After all, we don’t want our snacks and game-time apps going to waste. She loves snacks, chips, pretzels, and more, but we want her to try new things, so, we try to come up with interesting things to create and cook, hoping she’ll give them a try. Continue reading →