The Daddy Complex

Did my wife discover the greatest hidden playground in L.A.?...

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:53:29 -0700

Did my wife discover the greatest hidden playground in L.A.? Why, yes. Yes, she did.

If you haven’t heard, I’m one of a handful of...

Sun, 27 May 2012 10:08:00 -0700

If you haven’t heard, I’m one of a handful of parenting bloggers who’ll be attending the red carpet world premiere of Pixar’s new film Brave. I’m very stoked. So, stoked in fact, that I decided to wear a kilt to the premiere. Regarding my purchase of said kilt…

grumpy-dad replied:

Yess! I hope you bought a real kilt and not one of these silly leather replicas?

forgivemeasinner replied:

Wear it with pride lad! I’ve owned one for years as well as the rest of the get up. I’m Scottish and proud of it. Good on ya!

It’s not a leather replica… I don’t even know what those are. That said, the one I bought was made here in the U.S. of ‘Murica. And I also got a sporran, kilt hose and flashes. I didn’t get an Argyll or Prince Charles-type jacket (can you tell I did some research?) because I already have a jacket that’s cut high like a kilt jacket.

That said, I’m going to rock it out a bit with some items that I hope won’t offend you true Scotsmen too much. If it’s any consolation, I’m actually of Sicilian decent, so our kilts are made of prosciutto and the blood of people who owe us money.

If figured my chosen ensemble would be better for a movie premiere.

Change is from within....

Sun, 27 May 2012 09:37:16 -0700

The very rad stay-at-homedadblunders lays it out for you. And he’s got the creds to back it up.

stay-at-homedadblunders:

I have been asked a few times, “How can you be okay with your 3 year old son wearing girls dress up shoes?“ The answer is simple, he’s my son.

I know that what he does now, may or may not influence who he becomes. I further know that as a father if I show ignorance, bigotry and hatred; when none should be present, I will do much more harm than good. It is my job as a parent to show my child that I love them unconditionally. It is not my job to raise the next generation of intolerance.

I have seen intolerance at it’s finest. As a social worker, I have seen young expectant mothers not allowed home anymore because they were pregnant. I have seen boys, working towards manhood, fall into drugs, alcohol and prostitution because their parents couldn’t accept there sexual identity. I have even seen children wind up in foster care because someone could not deal with their handicaps.

Experience and life shows me that me as a parent, our children and our society have nothing to gain through the acts of intolerance. Parents may argue with me on these points but lets look at ourselves and ask “do we really gain anything by making others feel small?“ I don’t think we do. If we make a decision to tell our young sons they cannot wear girls dress shoes, we could gain more lost children, runaways, and violence.

We are the role models they look up too and how can we teach them to love themselves if we are tearing them down. I often wonder if people only ridicule others because they feel small about themselves. Children often feel small just because they cannot do as they please. They feel small because other children make fun of them. I believe if we never teach our children to make others feels inferior they would never do it to each other.

As a father, I want the best for my son and that means I have to show him acceptance and support in all he does. Life has shown me that if a man or a woman cannot except their child for who they are and what they might become they everything to lose. It might not be now but someday a person looks back on their life and will regret the decisions of not being approving to their children.

Children often forget the good things that have happened in their life but they never forget the bad. They are the ones that someday we want to come home to us with welcome arms and not dread the visit. As parent’s someday we will just want our child to call to say hello but they might not be so ready to pick up the phone.

I make a pledge to my son to guide him, nurture him and respect who is he. I will love the good, the bad and the ugly. I will teach acceptance and tolerance and will promote a loving environment for him.

The next time, as a parent, you are at your wits end with your child just remember, we were all little once and only once. What do you remember from childhood that you didn’t like? If you can recall being made to feel inferior by your parents then I ask you to make a pledge to your child to change.

I may or may not have just purchased a kilt to wear to the red carpet world premiere of...

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:32:41 -0700

I may or may not have just purchased a kilt to wear to the red carpet world premiere of “Brave.”

(Hint: I totally just bought a kilt.)

face-down-asgard-up replied to your photo: So, we finally saw The Avengers and, yeah, it’s...

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:24:00 -0700

face-down-asgard-up replied to your photo: So, we finally saw The Avengers and, yeah, it’s as…

aw yiss paul bettany. honestly i’m glad he’s in a film where he’s not playing some priest or variation thereof.

I don’t know. The argument could be made that Jarvis is a sort of spiritual advisor, especially that moment in the final battle when he asks Stark, “Shall I call Miss Potts, sir?” That was some heavy shit.

(And for those of you who haven’t seen the film, I’m not being sarcastic. It was a deeply touching moment.)

So, we finally saw The Avengers and, yeah, it’s as awesome...

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:17:57 -0700

So, we finally saw The Avengers and, yeah, it’s as awesome as everyone says. And I understand why I’ve seen all the fangirling going on over Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth on Tumblr and elsewhere. But I think you all forgot about one other criminally handsome cast member:

The dashing Paul Bettany who provided the voice of Jarvis, Tony Stark/Iron Man’s computer.

It’s true. He made the film what it was, I think.

For heartbreak - Kiddo and I came up with a system for the poop and butt jokes. Some jokes and games are only "at home" words/games. She can use them at home and around family and friends but not at daycare or places like the doctor's office or something. You have to enforce it, but this system seems to work for us.

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:10:50 -0700

Hey, heartbreakisahorcrux. Here’s much better advice that my “get used to it” response.

My three-year-old won't stop talking about poop and butts. I don't mind it too much at home around family, but at school and in public, it's embarrassing. Any tips?

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:05:44 -0700

If you’ve expressed to your child that it’s not appropriate public conversation to no avail, then my best advice is to relax. Because poop and butts are popular topics among pretty much every toddler and pre-schooler on the planet. (And in my case, they are still popular topics. And that’s because they’re super funny.)

Parenting Pro Tip

Sat, 26 May 2012 16:42:32 -0700

When your children are innocently playing in a backyard sprinkler, don’t assume this is the right time to surprise them with your hand-held water jet, especially if you do so by squirting it at them without warning.

You’ll only end up ruining a joyous afternoon activity.

girl-non-grata: Troy and Abed are my favorite television...

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:38:46 -0700

girl-non-grata:

Troy and Abed are my favorite television couple.

Are You Troy Enough?

The boys earned enough stars to get a new toy. They wanted...

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:58:42 -0700

The boys earned enough stars to get a new toy. They wanted superhero gear. (Wyatt had a Spider-Man mask on until just before I took this photo.

And yes, I bought that Captain America shield for myself.

Speaking of Iron Man, I'm off today, my wife gets out of work early and the boys are still at school. So... MID-DAY AVENGERS DATE!

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:09:04 -0700

Oh, Christ. Iron Batman. If Boone ever sees this, he will...

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:03:45 -0700

Oh, Christ.

Iron Batman. If Boone ever sees this, he will explode.

Ex. Plode.

deltaomega replied to your photo: Me and Wyatt. I know we look grump, but we’re… I think this...

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:56:58 -0700

deltaomega replied to your photo: Me and Wyatt. I know we look grump, but we’re…

I think this is the first time I’ve seen his (Wyatt’s) face, I always pictured him with more stubble

youngesthousewife: Just explained #swimsuitsforbagel to my mom. (she reads my tumblr and was...

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:46:16 -0700

youngesthousewife:

Just explained #swimsuitsforbagel to my mom. (she reads my tumblr and was confused) She scrolled though everyone’s pictures and thought it was so beautiful.

…then she flashed me her bra over Skype and said “This is for Bagel!!”

My mother, ladies and gentlemen.

MOMBOOBSFORBAGEL!

Me and Wyatt. I know we look grump, but we’re actually...

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:44:21 -0700

Me and Wyatt. I know we look grump, but we’re actually quite happy. We’re just wiped out from a long afternoon at the playground.

Do you find that one of your boys is generally better behaved than the other? Is one more outgoing/extroverted than the other? Do you find that other people are drawn to one more than the other? Is it tricky to keep everything equal?

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:14 -0700

They trade that role.
Depends on the situation.
No. Everybody loves my boys equally with a burning fire that outshines the sun.
I think we do okay, but we keep an eye on it.

GPOY

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:38:09 -0700

GPOY

newsweek: This is a poster for the children’s book, “All About...

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:15 -0700

newsweek:

This is a poster for the children’s book, “All About Poop,” which is a few hundred dollars short of actually happening on Kickstarter. If you believe in poop, and you believe in the kids, go check it out. This poster is totally going on our Christmas ~~poop~~ list.

Ha-ha. They said “poop.”

The #BraveCarsLandEvent Bloggers

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:45:00 -0700

I thought I’d give a shout-out to the other bloggers covering Disney’s Brave Cars Land Event. We’ve been chatting on Facebook and we’re all totally besties now.