Legacy of Fun

Why Send Hallmark When You Can Leave Your OWN Mark With A Personalized Rhyme From Legacy Of Fun? [6]

2011-07-27T23:42:13Z

When I’m walking down the card aisle, I totally hope to walk away with a “YES! This is the PERFECT card!”

But it’s usually more like “Bleh, whatever. This’ll do.”

It’s not that the greeting cards are bad… it’s just that they were written for “everybody”, instead of just for me and my situation.

They might be “novel”, but they aren’t unique.

And cards cost what? 5 Bucks these days?

And let’s not even talk about the dorky invitation sets you can buy. Maybe they have fun art on them, but then it’s just “to / from / date / bleh…”

Let me help you make your next greeting card or invitation stand out from the crowd

I can help make your next cards seriously pop! Whether it’s an invite to a bunch of birthday guests or you want something for your hubby while you renew your vows with Elvis.

Here’s the deal… for 10 bucks, I write you a unique rhyme that is specifically for YOU and YOUR event.

When possible, I jam it all in there: theme, venue, time and date… whatever you want.

Then you go somewhere like Vista Print, and add my rhyme to your own design or one of theirs.

I’ll tell you this… you won’t be hearing things like “oh hey, these invitation are just like so-and-so’s”. You’ll be hearing, “These are AWESOME! YOU are awesome!”

Of course, I hope you’ll tell your friends, and then you might hear “These are just like so-and-so’s… SO UNIQUE!”

Request your rhyme today…

Dads - Turn That Boring Tea Party into a Date on the Moon! [2]

2011-06-24T22:25:09Z

I don’t think the tea party can ever be fully redeemed.

I love my daughter and spending time with her.

But I don’t love tea parties.

Real or pretend.

When my daughter says “let’s play” – 9 times out 10 she means “sit at this little table where your knees don’t fit and eat pretend food and drink pretend tea.”

Um… yay?

But here’s the deal: I’d rather have fun pretending than just pretend to have fun.

One way I can do that is to invite more physicality and imagination.

That’s how one recent tea party landed us on the moon.

Some elements of a good moon-side tea party:

A rocket trip to the moon involves daddy’s lap, a tipping chair and lots of turbulence.
A tea party on the moon requires a galactic menu (you think that’s air you’re breathing? Hmm..)
You can see the earth from the moon… we could even see our house
The strangest creatures walk by…

I’m sure you have your own ideas… share them in the comments!

A Little Daddy Daughter Bonding in the Bathroom [7]

2011-04-27T19:38:49Z

I may lose some readers with this post as I know some folks don’t dig on the potty humor, but so be it.

When I come home from a long day at work, I often need some “alone” time in the bathroom, if you know what I’m sayin… Catch up on a book and enjoy a healthy BM.

I don’t think this is unusual for a typical dad.

However, having a 3-year-old who’s been missing me all day puts a damper on the “alone” part of that whole equation.

Instead of reading books on developing PHP applications or fantasy adventure fiction to myself, I get to do the deed while reading “Goat’s Groovy Galoshes.”

The other day it was just the two of us home and it was time for a big D and I just didn’t feel like reading a book to her.

She had to pee too, so there wasn’t any way I was getting out of a joint adventure.

Um… so we made up songs instead. And YOU dear reader, get to witness the greatness that was unleashed… if you dare.

Please excuse the low production values and the fact that the vocalist in this fine musical number is not known for his singing…

3 Year Old Girl Slays Monsters, Rescues Best Friend and Still Has Time to Wash Hands For Dinner [2]

2011-04-11T23:02:32Z

The dungeon walls were stern and bleak… a forbidding mist clinging to every stone. The stir of malicious beasts echoed off the walls… both disturbing and disorienting. And somewhere trapped in the bowels of this abysmal tomb lay a companion unlike any other. Sniffer… the furry, gray, valiant guardian of dreams and hopes.

The cause of his abduction was unknown… as was the danger. Yet 3 heroes, brave and bold would still their fears… steady their trembling hands… and venture into the very mouth of evil and bring back our missing friend.

Pig the Stubby, Bear the Bowtied and Cherry Dog. Heroes to the core, all three.

Time after time, they would near exhaustion, but still they pressed on… and prevailed. Princess Zoe’s dreams were once again safe and sound in the sure paws of Sniffer the wolf…

——

My three year old daughter and I tried out this game last night, called Kids Dungeon Adventure. Not a commercial product, just a simple yet fun do-it-yourself game from the mind of Ben Garvey.

Tons of Dads, including me, have toyed around with this idea in their heads… but THANK YOU BEN for getting it out of your head and into my hands!

Kids Dungeon Adventure is a really simple role playing game aimed at younger kids (4 and up). It uses toys you already have… blocks, action figures, stuffed animals, whatever you’ve got… and you and your child’s imagination.

For 6 bucks, Ben gives you a PDF download of the core game that has all kinds of room for your own tweaks and additions. You get the rules he came up with, plus everything you need to track monsters, treasure, etc.

This game is a great way to have fun while teaching basic counting and money management while also presenting challenges and low-impact winning/loosing scenarios. And it’s just as fun for Dad as it is for the kids!

I know some will be turned off by the fact that it is monsters and fighting and all that. At 3 years old, I don’ want Zoe to deal with death and fighting too much, but it was simple enough to change the concept of “hit points” to “energy points” and instead of dying, heroes and monsters got “exhausted” or “scared away”.

Zoe loved it and I had a blast… looking forward to playing again and building on the rules and adventures more as we play!

Download the $6 PDF with all the rules and monster/treasure printouts at http://kidsdungeonadventure.com

I plan to update this post with pictures of our own dungeon, but I liked the game so much I wanted to get this review up right away!

How Do I Keep My Legacy Fun... When Life Isn’t? [2]

2011-03-23T16:11:28Z

I have a privileged life. I take a lot for granted. I have freedoms that many can’t even dream of.

I realize this and know that MY picture is not THE picture. I say this only to justify the following statement:

Life isn’t always fun.

The past few weeks have been interesting to say the least.

About a month ago, I learned that my brother has esophageal cancer. It’s a very aggressive cancer and seems to already have spread to his stomach.

About a week after I learned this, my wife started having the worst headaches I’ve ever seen. I mean whimpering and moaning from pain for hours of every day for over a week. Not sleeping, not getting out of bed.

I’m a temp with no insurance, no sick leave, no vacation.

I’ve been trying to work, take care of my wife and our daughter, cook, clean, etc, while also thinking about my brother… all with about 4-5 hours of sleep a night.

For many days during this I had chosen to label myself a lot of things: lazy, weak, careless, clumsy, pathetic, meek, stupid.

But then I shook it off and realized that while those things may be how I FEEL… they are not who I AM.

In the past couple weeks, I have found the keys to unforced smiles and laughter in the midst of all of this:

Faith and Humility

I keep my own faith discussions pretty minimal on this blog, but if you want to know more about that part of my life, you can visit penitentman.com.

Humility is what allows us to feel those things I mentioned… stupid, weak, pathetic… without becoming those things. It allows us to say “I feel pathetic… how interesting!” instead of “I AM pathetic.”

Humility opens SO many roads to fun and laughter.

My wife is on the mend. My brother’s fight is just beginning.

I love my wife. I love my brother. I cannot take away their pain. I can not change what happens inside their bodies. I can not be on top of everything that needs doing.

I do the best I can and find reasons to laugh at myself along the way.

And it’s enough.