Had kind of a wake-up moment last night. I was stressed about missing my son's soccer game because of a work deadline. Venting to my wife about it. She said, 'He doesn't care if you're there, he just wants you not to be angry about work when you are.' Hit different. Now I'm wondering how much of my...
Update: We switched to Google Family Calendar last month and it's genuinely made everything easier. No more "wait, do I pick up Thursday or Friday?" texts. She can add dentist appointments, I can see school events, kids can see both of our schedules. It took like 20 mins to set up. Not gonna lie, I ...
Looking to get into smoking meats but don't want to drop a grand on a pellet smoker right away. Anyone have experience with those barrel smokers from Walmart or should I save up for something better? I've got a decent grill already but want to try low and slow smoking for some ribs.
Everyone talks about side hustles as if you have free time. I tried freelance writing for a few months thinking I'd make extra money. Reality: I'd work 8-6 at my main job, come home, be present (or try to be) until kids bedtime at 8, then work until 10-11pm. Made maybe $4,000 over three months. Bu...
Do NOT use the baking soda and vinegar volcano recipe from that one Pinterest site if you actually care about your kitchen. My 6yo wanted to do "volcano day" and I scaled up the ingredients because I thought bigger = more impressive. Nope. It went EVERYWHERE. Red food coloring all over the white cou...
Yeah, so that happened. My 6yo came home and asked me what porn was because apparently some kid at school mentioned it. I have no idea how to handle this conversation. Do I just shut it down? Do I explain? He's way too young for this. How have other parents navigated these awkward talks when kids br...
He's been asking and his friends are all playing it. I know it's not violent or anything but I'm worried he'll just sit there for 8 hours building stuff instead of doing literally anything else. Can he actually 'lose' or 'fail' at Minecraft or is it just open-ended? Also how hard is it to set up par...
Took my boys (8 and 10) to a "easy" 2 mile trail near Boulder last weekend. They were done before we hit the halfway point. Complained about legs hurting, wanted snacks every 5 minutes. We ended up just sitting by the creek for the second half of the afternoon. Is this normal or are my kids just wim...
Started doing freelance work for an old client about 18 months ago, just 5-10 hours a week on weekends. Hit $15k revenue last month. It's not replacing my main job but it's giving me optionality—like if I need to step back from full-time, I have some income cushion. Plus it's something that's *mine*...
Got the email reminder at 3pm today. It was at 5:30pm, 20 minutes away. I was downtown in meetings. I just... left. Told my boss something came up, got in the car, drove like a maniac (not proud of that part), made it in time to see my daughter sing one awkward song. She spotted me in the audience a...
So after about a year of "can I pleeeease get a phone" I finally caved and grabbed a used iPhone 11 from Best Buy for like $180. Set it up with Screen Time limits, app restrictions, location sharing, all of it. First week he was super responsible. Week two... found out he figured out how to disable ...
Seriously. We just got discharged from the hospital Wednesday. They schedule our first appointment for Tuesday of the following week - exactly 9 days later when my wife is most exhausted and we're still figuring out feeding. Then it's another one at 1 month, then 2 months, then 4... I get that monit...
This kid has been talking about it for THREE DAYS. "Dad came in second place, I'M THE CHAMPION." Has it written on a sign on his door. My competitiveness tells me to demand a rematch but also this might be the most confident I've ever seen him about something and it's kind of awesome? Letting him ha...
Got a Fitbit last year specifically to track stress levels (heart rate variability). Sounds stupid but data helps me see when I'm running on empty. Also set up automated Google Home reminders at 5:45pm every day: "Leave work in 15 mins. Commute starts now." Sounds dumb but it actually helps me clos...
lol okay so my son wanted to do a cooking activity with me last Saturday. I'm thinking we'll make cookies or a pizza or literally anything. Kid opens the pantry and goes 'can we make lucky charms?' Apparently pouring cereal into a bowl and adding milk is a 'meal' he prepared. I gave him points for ...