Sometimes, the absurdity of a situation really gets to me. Having the kids around makes this more of a problem, because laughing is simply not always appropriate. Here’s a case in point. The other night we had pasta for dinner. When I say "we", I mean J, N, and I. C was refusing to eat. […]

One of the oddest things about being a parent is hearing your own phrases and mannerisms adopted by your kids. In our case, I have a habit of trying to get C to figure things out himself. If he asks me a question, I’m fairly likely to say "Maybe" followed by the answer and then […]

J and the kids met me for lunch the other day, and we went out to a burrito place called "Moe’s" for lunch. Quite tasty. We ordered a couple burritos and a cheese quesadilla for C. Our plan was to give N (who is transitioning from baby food to solid food) some rice, shredded meat, […]

In addition to the kids, we also have two black labrador retriever mut puppies. If you are unfamiliar with black labs, they have ridiculous amounts of energy. Ours also had a tendency towards nipping. Not biting hard, mind you, just playful little grabs made with their teeth. Needless to say "playful little grabs" are not […]

C and N are just starting to get to the point where they can really do battle. Not physically, of course: N still can’t walk, and C outweighs him almost 2 to 1. I’m talking about the battle that siblings all around the world wage every single day. This past weekend, J and her sister […]

Hey everyone! This is the new home of daddytales. This weekend I’ll be moving over all the daddytales entries from blogspot. The challenge is going to be keeping the dates the same.

[Just a short one today. I’m working feverishly on a Big Upgrade to the site] We’ve been working on potty training C since December. For those without kids, yes, it can take that long. C has no problem using the potty, his problem is that he doesn’t recognize those internal rumblings which tell the rest […]

One of C’s favorite books used to be "Quick as a Cricket". This is simply a board book where each page has an illustration with a single phrase, like "Quick as a Cricket", "Happy as a Lark", "Brave as a Tiger", and so forth. About a year ago we were eating dinner at a family […]

First a little background is necessary. The Barnes & Nobles (around here at any rate) have train tables set up in the kids’ area. This is a little table that is about 2 feet high and covered with little wooden trains. Most of the time, those trains are Thomas the Tank Engine trains. The engines […]

For those of you who aren’t parents, let me paint you a little picture. Imagine for a moment that you have one unthinkably valuable possession. It might be a work of art, or a favorite shirt, or a vintage car… Whatever it is that you love most, imagine that you have it. Now, realize that […]