My 9yo has been asking for more iPad time and honestly I've been saying yes more than I should because work's been crazy and I need him occupied. He's not addicted or anything—he still plays outside, does his homework—but I see these articles about brain development and now I'm paranoid. Is like 2 h...
My 8yo has decided his life's work is collecting rocks. Not special rocks - just rocks. We have a container with approximately 8 million rocks in our garage. GARAGE. I asked him what the end goal is and he just shrugged. How do I gently explain that we don't have space for a rock collection that riv...
He watches woodworking videos on YouTube and keeps asking me to teach him. I'm not a carpenter or anything—I can do basic stuff like build shelves—but he's genuinely interested in making something with hand tools. I'm thinking maybe a small cutting board or a birdhouse as a starter project? Should I...
Remember me from 6 months ago asking if anyone had switched careers after kids? Well I did it. Took a teaching job at a local high school that pays about 40% less than my finance gig but summers are mostly mine and I'm home by 4:30 every day. We had to tighten our belts but honestly? Best decision e...
Thought it would be a fun activity to have my son pick what we'd eat on our camping trip. Seemed reasonable, right? Wrong. The menu was basically just hot dogs, Doritos, and cake. I should have had parameters. We still did some actual vegetables and normal food but he was genuinely confused why I wo...
Tried making chocolate chip cookies with my youngest on Saturday. Kid wanted to do EVERYTHING. Cracking eggs took 15 minutes, he smashed like 6 of them directly into the bowl with shells. I found eggshell in the batter THREE TIMES while cooking. The amount of flour on his face and the floor was genu...
Not trying to be dramatic but seriously. My wife was completely burned out, I was working 60-hour weeks, we hadn't had a real conversation in months. I had some PTO saved up and just took a month off (negotiated the last two weeks unpaid). Spent time with the kids, actually cooked dinner, did housew...
Like, "does she have a spelling test" or "what time is soccer" - things that I would know because SHE'S WITH ME. It's constant. And when I don't answer right away, she calls and leaves voicemails. I get that she cares but I'm trying to be present with my kids and I'm not her personal assistant. How ...
I keep seeing posts about yoga and morning runs. I hate both those things. What I actually do that works: - 20 min of woodworking in the garage after kids sleep (feels productive AND meditative somehow) - One weeknight I go to the batting cages alone while my wife has the kids - Saturday morning co...
Seriously considering buying stock in Diaper Genie because this thing has saved our lives. We got the Munchkin at first (mistake) and it smelled like a landfill after 2 days. Switched to the Diaper Genie XL and we can go like 5-6 days before emptying it. Yeah it's more expensive but honestly worth e...
Our pediatrician in Columbus (Dr. Matthews at Riverside Pediatrics) is fine but the office staff is absolutely incompetent. Takes 3 weeks to get an appointment, they lose records, last visit they had us wait 45 minutes past our appointment time. Our son is 4 months old and I'm already tired of fight...
My son had the 4-month regression and it was rough but we got through it. Now he's 7 months and hit another leap (apparently that's a thing?) and he's SCREAMING at night again. He was sleeping through the night, now he's up 2-3 times. Is this normal or should I be concerned? I read somewhere you're ...
Been thinking about joining a dad support group or something similar but feels kinda weird? Like would I actually open up to strangers about struggling? Or is it just a bunch of guys trying to out-stoic each other? There's one that meets Wednesday nights near me but the details on their website are ...
Used to run half marathons in my 20s. Tried to do a 5k loop yesterday at 35 with 20 extra pounds and two kids. Made it 2 miles before my knees were begging me to stop. My 7yo on his bike was actually lapping me. THE IRONY. Anyway, I'm starting Couch to 5K like a beginner bc apparently I am one now. ...
Grabbed the Gizmo Watch 3 for my youngest so my wife and I can call/text him when he's at school or at grandma's house. It's stupid simple (literally just calls and messages) but it's given us so much peace of mind and he feels like a big kid. Not replacing a phone by any means but it's the perfect ...