Kirk blAug

Our Halloween celebrations have been heroic this year. It started with Jupiter telling us that he wanted to be Superman for Halloween. Not only did he want to be Superman, but he wanted Tsunami, Chris and I to be Superman as well. So he is going to be Superman with Tsu, and Chris and I will wear our Superman T-shirts as well. We got our pumpkin from Arbor Day Farm, and carved the 'S' from Superman's chest into it. Jupiter keep telling us that he was going to show Superman when he was done, which we thought was strange until he brought out his stuffed Superman. Over the weekend we were in St. Louis getting some things in order before we move there. We stayed with Jupiter's aunt and uncle. Uncle Tom had the terrific idea of making more super hero jack-o-lanterns. We had originally planned on doing a Superman and a Green Lantern with the two orange pumpkins that Tom had already picked up, but while roaming around a pumpkin patch Chris decided that we should get a green pum

Ragu , Pampers , and a bunch of other companies still do not get how they are hurting their sales sales by making marketing assumptions which only moms to be parents. But at least some companies are getting it right. Check out these Tide commercials: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1qW7Po-1KI?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M28l-6LUp3w?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360] I do have a slight problem with the term "Dad Mom". It still implies that primary caregiver is a position inherently for moms. But it is an improvement over some of the insulting marketing we have seen. I do not use Tide, but it is always good to have the recognition. In the event that I am looking for another brand because the store is out of the selection of All that I usually get or something else happens with the brand I am using, maybe I will consider some Tide. (via The Real Matt Daddy )

Say your kids keep trying to escape from the lovely home that you provide for them. What are some reasonable ways to prevent this from happening? You could provide the sort of home that the kids would be happy to stay in. For example, a home that is large enough for the eight people who live in it. A home where the animal feces are picked up once in a while. A home where the urine smell is kept to a minimum. We cannot all afford a luxurious option such as this though, so let's look at some alternatives. A home in North Platte, NE has their own solution : [The officer] said the child's mother put her 3-year-old and 5-year-old children in the kennel because she says they tried to climb out of the house at night. Now this is certainly an effective solution. It is low maintenance. You do not need to worry about keeping your eye on the kids. You know exactly where they are at all times. As long as you take them out of the trailer house on their leash and walk them a few times a day

According to the Guardian , there are many more at-home dads in the UK than there used to be: There are now 10 times as many stay-at-home dads in the UK than a decade ago, with one in seven fathers (14%) now the main childcare provider, according to research from Aviva. It says about 1.4 million men are now the primary carer in their households. The rise is unsurprising. It seems the more egalitarian we become, the more women are going to be making comparable and better wages than their male spouses. There are also more adoption agencies willing to adopt to gay male couples , which account for at least some of the stay at-home dad count. Related, is the increase of single father households. As culture here and in the UK gets less patriarchal, the difference between primary caregiving moms and dads will continue to even out. We are still a long way away from that, but studies showing improvement are encouraging.

When you have a newborn, you get a lot of baggage to carry around. I mean that literally. You get a diaper bag, and you put stuff in it that the baby needs when you go out. At first the bag was a hassle. We had a big black one with many handy compartments. It did not have a shoulder strap which cost the use of one of my hands while carrying it. It was also a bit of an awkward shape. I carried it around for quite awhile. I got used to it. I learned to enjoy the convenience of having so much stuff with me. Eventually, Chris got me a new diaper bag that was way better. It had a shoulder strap. It had dedicated compartments for bottles, diapers, a changing pad (also a good place to tote my iPad), and smaller items such as straws, bandages, tissues, etc. It also had a built in refillable wipe container. This was a bag I did not mind carrying. It did not take up any of my hands and I could even put my own personal items in it. Fast forward about another year, and I do not need to carry arou

Jupiter loves using the iPad. He loves it for games and learning. I am pretty sure he learned most of his animals and what sounds they make from it. Sure, we take him to the zoo and he loves it, but how often does an animal at the zoo make the sounds associated with them in the few minutes you spend looking at it? Jupiter also likes to color, as most two year olds do. I had noticed that Griffin had teamed up with Crayola to release the iMarker which pairs with the ColorStudio HD and Paint & Create apps for the iPad. I thought this might be something that he would enjoy so I picked one up from Amazon . Luckily, it arrived from the parcel service during nap time. This gave me an hour to play with it first. I was impressed. But the real test would be whether Jupiter liked it. At first he had a bit of a hard time figuring out how the app works. He was easily distracted by all those other apps on the home screen that he already knew how to use. But after a little while, he started to

Occasionally, I come across some silly parenting product or another. However, this one I actually think is useful. I also think it is impractical though. It is a solution for those times when you are out with the baby and you need to use the privy. It happened to me a lot when Jupiter was a baby. I would be out getting groceries or running some errand and nature would call. What do we do in this situation? Well, as a guy, during a stand up situation I could manage a baby in one hand and my equipment in the other. This does not really work for moms or sit down situations for dads though, so sometimes putting them on a blanket on the floor is all you can do. The Babykeeper is meant to hang from the door to keep that child off the dirty floor an on the dirty door instead. Honestly, I would prefer the door, but the keeper seems way to big to fit into my already overflowing diaper bag, and certainly will not earn that space with the limited use it provides. There are solutions that the own

I get a little peeved when someone says to my son, "do you have a girlfriend?" or, "is that your girlfriend?" or some other such sexual orientation attribution. Why do people think it is okay to lay the groundwork for orientation long before children even have any interest in sexual mates? I think it seems a bit presumptuous. Say my son does one day realize that he prefers the company of others of the same sex where intimate matters are concerned. With a lifetime of build up of this expectation that he is supposed to prefer the opposite gender, he will undoubtedly feel guilty for going against the expectations of all the people he has grown to admire. I think the expectation that people need to pair up at all is ridiculous. Just because some of us choose to make a commitment to be with someone does not mean that one should have to be looked upon as a social outcast if that is not their own desire. I was single and in no relationship for years before I started dating

According to this article on CNN, Sesame Street's YouTube Channel was hacked earlier today and filled with porn: Hackers appeared to have commandeered the YouTube page of the venerable "Sesame Street" children's show Sunday, reprogramming the page with content brought to you by the letter "X." The show page was taken offline Sunday afternoon, and visitors were greeted with a message from the video website informing them it had been shut down "due to repeated or severe violations of our community guidelines." Users who called up the account earlier had found explicit sex videos instead of Muppets. It is a little bit funny. I can imagine some parent letting their toddler get on YouTube who ends up watching porn on the Sesame Street channel and then being outraged that the world is not safe for their kids. To those parents I would say, one, if you think you can protect your kids from porn, then you better be prepared to supervise your child's int

In the car, in the air, get your ultrasound anywhere! From the Mobisante website : We have created the world's first smartphone-based ultrasound imaging system MobiUS™. This award winning system, cleared by the Food & Drug Administration, brings ultrasound imaging within reach of health care professionals everywhere. MobiUS fuses the power and wireless connectivity of a smartphone with the Internet into a game-changing diagnostic solution that is personal and accessible, helping health care professionals practice better medicine and reduce costs. I could see this being a handy device for in-home doctors, midwives, and physicians who work in third world countries. It also seems like it it much less costly ($7,495 according to GeekWire ) than the traditional ultrasound system (up to $100,000) you see in the typical OB/GYN office. I would guess that comes with a bit of a less feature rich experience as well, but that is an understandable tradeoff for what I would expect to be it&#

I have heard this phrase from a couple of people lately. It is said with a tone of surprise. As if, when most of your friends and family are on a certain social networking site, there is some better way of announcing news such as, "our baby was born", or "we are moving". Let us set aside for a moment the fact that the people in question do not even have a Facebook account and thereby did not really hear about it on Facebook, and go through the scenario step by step. Baby is born. Parents are very excited and want to revel in the joy the addition to the family. I make a single post on this blog about the event. I share it on various social networks to inform my friends and family and anyone else who might care. Done. This process, because the blog post was pre-drafted with blanks to fill in, takes less than a minute. Now I can spend time with my family. Now comes along some asshole who expects me to go old school and spend the first half hour of my child's life w

When Chris ran a half marathon while she was only half way through her pregnancy, she got some interesting looks. I commend her for it. It looked hard. But this gal ran a half in the Chicago Marathon and gave birth on the same day! "I got the OK from my doctor to run half, and my husband ran with me and supported me along the way," Miller told WGN-Channel 9 from her bed at Central DuPage Hospital. "I ran half and walked half, that's how I finished. "Everybody just kind of stared as I'm running by.” It used to be common to discourage a lot of exercise while pregnant, and some people are still of that mind. That is why people give strange looks when pregnant women run races. As long as you are not just getting started with running, most doctors will give the okay and even encourage it as long as you are being smart about it.

We finally got out to one of our favorite pumpkin patches this weekend. We chose to go to Vala's because I thought there would be more for Jupiter to enjoy. The whole family is sacrificing sleep due to the new baby, even Jupiter. He cannot seem to sleep through the cries. So we did not plan to spend too much time at the pumpkin patch. A couple hours was enough for all of us. The first thing we did was ride the train. Aside from being a fan of trains in a general sense, this one is particularly fun for Jupiter because the engine is a half scale model of the infamous Jupiter steam locomotive . He really gets a kick out of that aspect. Then after having lunch at the Country Bakery, Jupiter rode around on the pedal trikes and we visited Bunnyville. Then we strolled through the Storybook Barn where Jupiter hugged a dragon and rode a school bus. After that it was time to leave. Jupiter was worn out. Tsunami was worn out. Chris was worn out. Kirk was worn out. So we went home.

Not long ago, I was having a conversation about how messed up the world is. It is pretty messed up, but that is a topic for another post. During the conversation, I was met with a phrase that far too many people actually believe. "You can't change the world." It wrong to think that one person cannot change the world, because every person does change the world. Granted, not everyone changes the world to the same degree or in a positive way, but everyone has an effect on their surroundings. They have an effect on the people they come into contact with. They have an effect in what they create, what they destroy, even what they decide not to do. Every moment is spent making choices. Whether it is choosing what to do with our lives or choosing to literally take a step forward. Choosing to wait a minute to take that next step changes the timing with which you do everything that follows. And since what you do and when you do it affects anyone and everything else's future th

A couple years ago, Chris and I were clergy for Halloween. It was when she was pregnant with Jupiter. I played the part of a priest and she the nun. This was half a month before he was born, so the effect was pretty good. Some of the people at the party we went to that night did not even know that we were expecting. It was especially fun to see the reaction of those people. What are some favorite pregnancy Halloween costume gags that you have done?

The 16th Annual At-Home Dads Convention is coming up October 8 2011 in Washington, DC. I have made it to the past two which were hosted in Omaha, but I will not be at this one. Tsunami is just over a week old and I need to stay with Chris to take care of him. Hopefully next year it will not be such a hectic time for me. The past two that I have attended have been a great experience. It was at the first one that I met the LinOma Dads, Lincoln and Omaha local area dad playgroup. I go to playgroups sometimes, although lately most of the time the schedules conflict and I cannot make the drive to Omaha. I keep in touch with many other at-home dads that I meet at the convention from all over the nation through social networks as I have recently described . The community is the biggest benefit of the convention as far as I am concerned, but there is certainly much to be learned from the lectures and the breakout sessions. Particularly of interest is the age targeted group sessions as I have

The Evolution of Dad is by no means a new a documentary about the rise of stay at-home dads. But still very relevant. It follows the stories of different men who are the primary caregivers for their children. It takes a look at the struggles of fathers looking to take care of children. It addresses some of the social stigma, the reasons, and the responsibilities that male primary caregivers incur. As a stay at-home dad, it hit home for me in an informative and inspiring way, but I think it would be enjoyable for anyone. I encourage anyone interested in the reality stay at-home dads to check it out. http://evolutionofdad.com

Since I started staying home with Jupiter a couple years ago, my social media usage has gone way up. The thing is, being a stay at-home parent can be lonely. Social media counters that nicely. I first discovered Twitter while I was still working, but it gained new value once it was the majority of my social interaction. I made a lot of friends with it. Most of them local. I would later meet many of them in person. Many of them, I noticed, we're parents as well. I had used my Facebook account for years and there is a huge mix of people on it. During the day there are many parents on it too, however I did not really connect with new people through Facebook. Facebook has always been a tool that I use to connect with people I already know. Google+ has entered the arena recently. I have found that it is the best social network for connecting with people who fit a certain group, such as "Stay At-Home Dads" for me. The other night after a single search for that term, I have a &q

Just what every potty-training toddler needs. His very own urinal . I am not sure why anyone would want to give their boy a urinal. I do not have a urinal in the bathroom for myself. I would think that this would serve to confuse the child making potty training even harder. I suppose it is not the strangest product that I have ever seen, but it seems pointless and counterproductive. If, despite the ridiculousness of this product, you still want to get your toddler son his very own urinal, it is available for $39.99 .

Jupiter likes puzzles a lot. He has a lot of puzzles. He also likes to color a lot. I thought that I would combine these two likes and we would make our own puzzle. We have plenty of cardboard around because we get a lot of things shipped to us, so I grabbed a box out of the pile of boxes from the garage. Next I cut out one of the sides. Then I got the markers out. I recommend washable markers unless you want a colorful floor. Then I cut the finished cardboard into puzzle like pieces. I recommend using an exacto knife instead of a cardboard cutter which I used. I did not have one around for this project. I still think it turned out alright though. Jupiter seems to like it.

We have been back in the hospital for the past day, or actually, Chris and Tsunami have been back in the hospital. Jupiter and I have gone home to try to sleep with varying success. Tsunami was a little jaundiced when we left the hospital the other day, but his levels were not high enough to worry about. Yesterday was his first appointment at the pediatrician where the doctor took his bilirubin level again and it was going up. He recommended that we put him under a light until the level gets below 15. We had hoped that it would be down by last night, but after his most recent test this morning it was still at 16. We are not too worried about it. Jupiter was much more jaundiced than this when he was in the NICU after he was born. But here we are, waiting, not getting much rest. Hopefully we will get out sometime today. Update: We have just been told that we can go home and will have to come in for another blood draw tomorrow morning. Yay!