Category: Dad Stuff

The Cathartic Power of Outrage: I recently witnessed a young child, say three or four, having a vein-popping meltdown at the grocery store.   (One of those high-end grocery stores where one can sense unspoken judgment upon being caught in the salty-carb aisle.) Myself and the other shoppers did our best to ignore the tantrum, but our collective awkward sidesteps left little doubt we would all be sharing details of the spectacle when we returned home. For toddlers, they can be forgiven. And this mother, to her great credit, barely reacted at all.  Not wanting to assign merit to bad…

Last Man Standing: One of my favorite TV shows is Last Man Standing. It’s a show I can somewhat relate to. It’s a show where there are two working parents, with three daughters. (I only have two) The main character, Mike Baxter, is played by Tim Allen. The show has the same humor as Tim’s old show Home Improvement. Take it from me, Last Man Standing is hilarious. I’ve been crushing it on Hulu lately.  Last Man Standing – Outdoor Man – The Vlog In each show, Mike Baxter updates his Vlog. The Vlogs usually have more rational or they…

5 Steps to Make Your Lawn Green: Today, it was in the 60s, tomorrow it will be in the 70s. Our flowers have started to bloom. Our grass….well … looks awful. What about you? Is it time to get in the mood for grass cutting? Let’s take a look at the items you need to do in order to get prepared for the mowing season and ensure you have a green lawn this year! 5 Steps to Make Your Lawn Green 1. Get your mower blade sharpened. Change the Spark Plug, and Change the oil. 2. Walk around your property…

7 Reasons Why Your Next Family Getaway Needs To Be A Camping Trip: It is hard to find time to bond with your kids. While I have worked remotely for 20 years, that has often meant conference calls and instant messages 24/7. Plus constant business travel. And kids lives become stress as well with tutoring and sports. Which is why I encourage families to take a camping trip at least once a year. This doesn’t have to be a primitive tent camping experience. An RV or cabin is fine. But as long as it’s a few days away from the…

Bedtime Strategy # 2 – Plan Your Attack. How often have you tried to initiate bedtime, only to be thwarted by the “I’m hungry” defense?  It’s easy to dismiss if we’re sure they ate a solid dinner, but on those nights, that dinner was light or a little early, and there’s a chance the kid is actually hungry and he/she may have a point.  Of course, we give them a bowl of cereal before bed, but you’ve just conditioned the child to get a 20-minute extension just by faking some hunger pangs.  Yes, Pangs… (I recently learned its pangs and not…

Bedtime Strategies Strategy # 1 – The Bell ~ From a Dad in North Carolina. Kids don’t like surrendering control of their situations.  Since they can’t tell time you can imagine how their stomachs drop when we announce “its bedtime!”  Sure, giving them a 5-minute warning helps, but when that 5-minutes turns into 30 minutes because we got distracted then you’ve conditioned the child to understand that “5-minutes before bedtime” could be 1 more commercial break or could be an entire episode start to finish.  So when you finally try to round them up for bed they are more likely…

Get Your Kid Ready for Bed – Trying to get your kid ready for bed? The following series comes from other Dads… What works for you when trying to get your kid(s) ready for bed… I welcome your feedback, and please comment on what methods you use… That’s Dad Stuff @thatsdadstuff Bedtime Strategies for Dads Intro My son suffers from a syndrome not yet recognized by the American Medical Association which I call BTB.  It stands for “belligerent time bomb” and goes like this:  The Mornings The instant my son wakes up in the morning around 6:30am, he is the most…

Yard Work Help My Yard Sucks – I need some yard work help. My yard sucks. I am not remotely close to a green thumb. I need some yard work done! My neighbor’s yard is like carpet; no crabgrass, no dandelions, nice and green!. They also work at it… I… well, Don’t. That’s probably why I am in need of some major yard work help. This fall I am going to start giving my yard a little TLC. Who knows if it’s the right time of year, but I figured I should do this now before the winter. My Yard…

A Must-Have for Crab Eaters: We are nearing crab season here in Maryland and Maryland is well known for its steamed blue crabs  Our family has a couple of crab feasts a year. It seems to me that crab eaters go-to tools are a mallet, a knife, paper towels, and a cold beer. What if I told you there is a tool that makes eating crabs a lot easier? Buy it today on AMAZON. That’s Dad Stuff @thatsdadstuff A Must-Have for Crab Eaters: Let me tell you about one of the coolest products I’ve seen.  It’s The SHELLER. The SHELLER is…

Birthday Party Ideas: This weekend was my daughter’s birthday party. My wife wanted to do something different for her and was really struggling with what to do for my daughter and her friends. After what I experienced this weekend, I can truly tell you that no matter what your interests are, there is a party theme or location to host your party. The Birthday Party Idea: Birthday Party Idea: My wife found Kitten In Cups. It’s a Cat Cafe. You read that right. A Cat Cafe. My daughter was ecstatic. I was not! At. All. I’m allergic to cats. Deathly…