About modern day dad

Thanks Dad - For the 10 Extra Years of Prostate Screenings

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via manofthehouse.com

I was asked by Man of the House to write a piece in a series they're running called "Thanks Dad." And instead of writing something simple about how awesome my Dad is, I decided to write about something serious he's going through right now.

I'm pretty proud of how it turned out, but I'm more proud of my Dad.

Read Thanks Dad - For the 10 Extra Years of Prostrate Screenings on Man of the House.com

I'm still here (sort of).

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I hate the "hey sorry for not posting in a while" blog posts, but it's been so long I feel like I'm supposed to start off with an explanation (hell - I did miss an entire month). Maybe I should just be echoing these sentiments.

A lot has been going on in the MDD household recently, some of it not so good, but ultimately everything will be OK. My Madame is growing up faster than I ever thought she would, exploding with new words and skills every day. And just when I really thought I didn't have any time to blog, the new baby is just around the corner (in July). Though I'm guessing that will only get me motivated to blog about a whole new slew of child-rearing issues. Until I can get the time to create a more coherent post, here are some quick things I've noticed in the last month or so that are worth sharing (at least some things that I can remember here late at night):

  • Has anyone else seen this Wonder Pets show? Animated-cut-out-picture-children's-opera with a guinea pig. It's the kind of head-scratching stuff that only the dude who invented Oobi could come up with. I think it rules me, but I'm not sure yet.
  • I was all set to get Madame a big-girl-bed from notNeutral. I researched it, went to LA to talk to them about it, and generally felt all hip and in-the-know, and then that goddamn DWRjax had to go and start selling it. It's hard to be hip and in-the-know about cool kid's furniture these days. Anyway, DWR is having a 10% off sale right now that might interest you.
  • Where can I get one of those toy Dyson vacuums? I guess eBay is in my future. I did find a pretty sweet Mac Claren toy stroller that Madame loves.
  • Speaking of, I finally started selling stuff on eBay last month, and my one bit of advice is: say no to international buyers.
  • And finally, big thanks to AJ over at Thingamababy who figured out that http://moderndaydad.com (without the "www") isn't working. I'm trying to get it fixed now.

It started with a diaper bag.

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Almost a year ago my wife and I found out we were going to have a baby. Smiles. Tears. Happiness. Nothing but the elation and vague nervousness of first-time parents-to-be. Around the same time it occurs to me that, since I'm not only going to be a dad but also a stay-at-home-and-take-care-of-the-kid kind of dad, I need some dad stuff. And where better to start than a diaper bag?

I go online and start looking for a sweet bag that will hold my and my random-future-baby's things, which turns out to be way more difficult than I ever would have thought. Everything is either very feminine and obviously for moms, or covered in ducks and bunnies. "No problem" I think, "I'll just check out what the other dads are rocking."

So I rev up google and all of a sudden I realize I'm a member of this minority, "stay-at-home dads." I found a few websites devoted to SAHDs, some more helpful than others, but overall there didn't seem to be very many at all. But I know I'm not the only one who's doing this, and there seems like there's a tremendous potential for building community, so I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring and contribute a blog. Plus I figure it'll give me something to focus on besides diapers and bottles during the day.

I guess all of that is a very long-winded way of saying that I hope this blog contributes to the SAHD resources on the web. I'm sure it will change over time, but for now I hope to include the dad stuff I've found that's cool, that works for the baby (or doesn't work), as well as my own personal experiences. So if you're reading post a comment if you're so inclined. The community we're a part of gets bigger every day.

(Oh, and I did happen to find a very sweet diaper bag for dads - the Dad Field Bag from Jack Spade.)

UPDATE: Now, shop for Diaper Bags for Dads at the Modern Day Dad Store.