Doodaddy

The Undrunk Glass

doodaddy — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:32:41 +0000

We don’t do a lot of juice around here, but Fern’s friend was getting some at our playdate today so I let her have some, too. Of course, I used that “kid juice” you can get, which is marketed as “Low! Sugar!” but essentially amounts to a tiny bit of apple juice cut into water. [...]

A Little Bit Broken

doodaddy — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:52:05 +0000

We’re supposed to be in the middle of our long, foggy summer by now but the rain won’t stop. And whether it’s down to that or the fact that my coffee maker isn’t working, I don’t know, but things are a bit melancholy around here today. Fern is a playdate junkie. Every night before bed, she’ll [...]

I’m not very careful with kids

doodaddy — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:08:30 +0000

Pretty much every day, I take one of the most precious items in my life — my baby daughter — and toss her bodily up into the skylight. Y’know? Fern got a massive batch of splinters on her heel the other day, from playing barefoot on a wooden play structure. Three baths, a soak, and a painful [...]

We Need More Male Teachers

doodaddy — Mon, 03 May 2010 07:31:55 +0000

I’m teaching one day a week at Fern’s nursery school — it’s a co-op, so once a week I bring in some activity I’ve invented, or, more often, something I used to teach to my older kids when I was still doing outdoor education. Actually, usually I find the activities on the Internet. But I [...]

Megatron! Boner! Turbocharger! And Other Words Men Say.

doodaddy — Sat, 01 May 2010 22:12:00 +0000

Sorry about the title, but I’m trying to overcome my genderanalyzer.com rating: Eighty-four percent? Sheesh, I guess it’s time to trot out a booty-call, A-Rod, Hooters burgers, four-on-the-floor kind of post. Or maybe just stop writing about my kids. That’s so female.

The Girl Who Saves Dryer Lint

doodaddy — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:24:00 +0000

I contemplate the garbage. Every time I throw something away, I have to consider: can anything visible be construed as treasure? And Fern, god love her, can sure construe. Tonight I excavated from what Fern calls my “treasure pocket” the following haul: four Band-Aid wrappers, a sheet of clear plastic wrap, the hanging tag from [...]

I Like Crying Children

doodaddy — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:21:00 +0000

I was at a nursery school event some months ago, just hanging out by the climbing dome, when a small girl hit her head on a bar and started to wail. The girl’s mom wasn’t immediately available — this is an enclosed and locked play yard, so we often work under “village rules.” So, being the [...]

Putting children to work as housekeepers

doodaddy — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:59:23 +0000

“You really have to clean your room every day or else it gets ridiculous,” said my daughter. Yep, read that again: said my daughter. Fern was talking to a friend in the car, gloriously oblivious to my presence as only four-year olds can be oblivious. Like when kids hide their face in a couch cushion and think [...]

How to get promoted to “stay at home dad supervisor”

doodaddy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:05:09 +0000

I never lie about my work. Except to my daughter. Some dads do stretch the truth about their job titles, I’ve noticed. Either they’re stay-at-home dads who still pretend to be working — heard as “I’m doing some consulting” — or they’re mostly-working dads who take a day off and think they rate the SAHD [...]

The Mummy Part III: Frightening of the Biddies

doodaddy — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:32:00 +0000

Sometimes the approving looks of strangers as they gaze upon my cute-as-custard daughter dissolve into a vaguely uneasy grimace, followed by a speedy retreat. Actually, that happens kind of a lot. We went to an art museum this weekend, first time in a year. (In early days we used to be followed around by security guards [...]