Just for dads
More men taking their wives' last names
Just for moms, Just for dads, Love & sex, In the news
When I married the first time, I was quite young and didn't think twice about taking my husband's last name as my own. That's what a woman does when she marries, right? But when I married again nearly 20 years later, I didn't even consider taking my new husband's name. Well, maybe I considered it. But after realizing that he didn't care what I called myself, I knew that I would always and forever be a Maple. What we didn't discuss during those pre-marital negotiations was him taking my last name. I don't think he would have done it even if I had suggested it, but there are men who would - and do - happily change their last names to that of their wives. There are no real statistics on the subject, but anecdotal evidence suggests that this might even be a trend. And while this trend my seem terribly modern to some, it was actually not uncommon in 14th and 15th century England for men to take their wives' last names if hers was more prominent.
These days, I imagine a man would have a better reason than popularity to exchange the name he was born with for his wife's. Maybe hers is easier to pronounce. Maybe a hyphenated version of both their names would be long and awkward. Or maybe he just likes her name better. I understand why couples want to have the same last name - to show they are united as a family and for the sake of the children. But I see no reason why it must be his last name. Do you?
Jaime Oliver goes to great lengths to father a son
Just for dads, Celeb parenting
The husband and father of two recently admitted that when conceiving his third child with wife Jools, he really, really wanted a boy. So strong was his desire for a son, he did a little experimenting. A specialist had told him that when it comes to conceiving one sex over the other, it was all about "temperature." So Jamie bought an adult diaper, soaked it in water and froze it, cut a hole, then slipped that baby on. Can you say romantic?
Whether it worked or not, the couple doesn't yet know. Jamie and Jools are already parents to Poppy Honey, 6, and Daisy Boo, 5, and have made no secret about their desire to have a son. To see Jamie make his hilarous admission to talk show host Jonathan Ross, watch the (possibly NSFW) video below.
My favorite line? "I actually didn't plan on having this conversation." I bet!
Dads - Quality time with your kids pays off
Just for dads, Fun & activities
After a long day of work, car pooling, and errands, what most dads (and moms) would like to do is to finally sit down, maybe read the paper or watch TV. But we're lucky to be raising kids in a new era, one where dads are far more involved in their children's daily lives than in generations past. And so they brush off the fatigue to play a game of catch with their kids, coach a soccer team, or curl up in bed together and read a good book.And you know what? All that extra time pays off. A large study that included 17,000 babies and spanned 50 years found that children of hands-on fathers grew up to be generally more successful, including a higher IQ and a better social standing. Researchers interviewed 5,700 of those original babies at age 46 to see if how they were parented affected the way they interacted with their own children.
I tell my husband all the time that our girls are so lucky that he's a hands-on dad. He's as likely to play a rousing game of Pretty Pretty Princess with our three-year-old as he is to take our kindergartner out to hit a few balls off a tee. He shrugs it off -- why would he be any other way? But as a person who spends nearly 100% of her time with her children, I can see how much his interest in their lives bolsters them, and bonds them together despite the hours he spends away with work.
Quality time doesn't need to be complicated, but if you're a dad looking for some new activities for you and your children to enjoy together, About.com has great list of links.
Making movie night worth the babysitter
Just for moms, Just for dads, Fun & activities, Places to go, That's entertainment
Babysitters aren't cheap these days and on top of the actual cost you have to figure in the hassle of finding one, instructing them, and, possibly driving them home afterwards. But suppose you've done all that and now you and your significant other are free (Wheee!) for the evening -- what do you do to make the most of the night? How about a movie? Oh, sure, so you can pay seven bucks to listen to someone else's kids just because they couldn't get a babysitter?There's an alternative, now, if you live near Chicago. Gold Class Cinemas is opening a new theatre that features reclining arm chairs and full waiter service. The theatre will offer wine -- including a $295 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne -- and comestibles such as duck tacos and Wagyu beef burgers. It's unlikely you'll encounter any screaming kids or audience members talking on their cell phones -- tickets are $35, about five times the going rate.
While that might seem like a lot just to see a movie, bear in mind that you're probably already going to be paying nearly that much for the babysitter. It seems to me that it's worthwhile for parents to make their rare nights out something to remember.
Sex offender killed during home invasion
Teens & tweens, Just for dads, Health & safety
It's every father's nightmare -- you wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of your teenage daughter's screaming and discover a naked man attempting to do who-knows-what to her. That's what sixty-four-year-old Robert McNally dealt with recently. During a struggle with the intruder, McNally got his arm around the man's neck and pinned him to the floor while his wife called the police. When the police arrived, McNally was still holding the man down. After McNally let go, the intruder was unresponsive and subsequently pronounced dead.The man broke into the house through the girl's bedroom window and was wearing nothing but a mask and latex gloves. He was also carrying a knife, a rope, a gag, and condoms, according to police. It turns out that the man was David Myers, a former sex offender who had been living with his mother nearby. He had served ten years of a twenty-year sentence for sexual deviate conduct but had failed to register as a sex offender after being released two years ago.
Police are unsure whether the man died from being choked or from heart failure; Myers had a history of heart problems. The police said that it is unlikely any charges will be filed against McNally. It seems to me that McNally did exactly the right thing in order to protect his family and others'. And, despite the law that apparently says teenagers have to hate their parents, I'll bet McNally's daughter sure loves her old man right about now.
Daily Dish - Let the games continue
Newborns, Just for moms, Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Teens & tweens, Just for dads, Fun & activities
DailyDish - Don't take it personally
Newborns, Just for moms, Babies, Just for dads, Love & sex, Pregnancy & birth
Bad dads cause early puberty
Teens & tweens, Just for dads, Divorce & custody, Development
Research has shown that girls who get their period earlier on are at higher risk of breast cancer, depression and teen pregnancy. There are a lot of factors that can contribute to reaching puberty earlier, including obesity, nutrition, and exposure to chemicals. Now, there's another factor that appears to trigger earlier onset of puberty: fathers -- specifically fathers who are addicted to drugs or alcohol, are abusive, or are involved in criminal activity.It's not so much the living with an abusive or drug-using father, however, that spurred the early development as it was his leaving. The theory is that the girls are responding to a "window of opportunity" by developing faster. "In the world in which humans evolved, dangerous or unstable home environments meant a shorter lifespan, and going into puberty earlier in this context increased chances of surviving, reproducing and passing on your genes," said Professor Bruce Ellis who worked on the study.
It seems to me that the practical application of this information is not that abusive fathers should necessarily stick around, but that fathers shouldn't be such a problem in the first place. This is just one more reason to work really hard to be the best father possible.
Parents ask that their daughter be treated the same
Just for moms, Just for dads, Love & sex, 2Moms2Dads
Sam and Julia Thoron have been married for nearly half a century and have raised three children. One of them happens to be gay, but that doesn't mean it's okay to let the other two get married while taking away the right of the third to do so. California's proposition 8 would do just that -- take away the right of thousands of parent's sons and daughters to get married. In the video, Julia asks "please don't eliminate that right -- for anyone's family."
It had to take a lot of guts -- and love -- for this couple to make that video. But then, that's the sort of thing parents do for their kids. Hopefully, all the other parents in the state will think about their own children and not vote to take away their right to marry this November.
DailyDish - Don't listen to advice
Just for moms, Just for dads, Life & style, Playground bureau, Mommy wars, Resources
When it comes to parenting, don't feel the need to follow or even listen to everyone else's advice.
Political onesies all the rage
Newborns, Just for moms, Babies, Just for dads, Life & style, Media, Baby essentials, Kid decor & style, That's entertainment, Shopping & recalls
If you can't get political enough this season, then perhaps you can share even more of your opinions via your baby's tummy. That's right, world, just when we thought we'd said "ENOUGH!" to all the witty slogan T-shirts out there (no longer midriff-bearing, thank goodness, I am SO over that), the onesie-with-commentary takes center stage.
Check out these witty onesies (and a few bibs) courtesy of website urlesque, which provides interesting tidbits and goings on about the wonderful machine that is the world wide web. Whether you're a democrat or republican, you'll be sure to find something to sport your baby in with political style. Or, perhaps you have no real affiliation, but you are committed to causes like stopping global warming--there's a cute onesie for that one too.
Several of the onesies featured center around our current lame duck president, but most center on Obama and McCain. Of all the 28 pictures, the only onesie I've actually seen is "My mama's for Obama." Several naturally also poke fun at Hillary Clinton. None, of course, center on Sarah Palin, although I'm sure we'll see those soon enough. Just give the witty minds enough time! The one I found most clever made good use of Obama's slogan, "Time for a change." It features a baby who needs his diaper changed (it's promo Obama but the republicans could get a good laugh out of it too!). Very funny!
Funny onesies aside, regardless of what you clothe your kid in this season, PLEASE VOTE IN NOVEMBER!
Ryan O'Neal and son arrested on drug charges
Just for dads, Fun & activities, Health & safety, Life & style, Rumors, Behaving badly, In the news, Alcohol & drugs, That's entertainment
You know what they say about the family that plays together... Well, maybe that turn of phrase was actually the family that PRAYS together, stays together. Either way it looks like Ryan O'Neal better say a few prayers for himself and his son, Redmond, who were both recently arrested on drug charges after the cops searched their home.
These two aren't the only O'Neals to recently make the papers, and not the only two to do so for drug-related incidents. Tatum O'Neal, Ryan's daughter, was recently arrested and then subsequently went to rehab for trying to buy drugs from an undercover agent. Ryan and Redmond were arrested for allegedly possessing methamphetamine after their home was swept in relation to a probation case involving the 23-year-old. Redmond was on a three-year probation plan given him instead of a jail sentence. Both were released on $10,000 bail.
All of this is terrible publicity for the family (and where is poor Farrah Fawcett in all this--she is Redmond's mom), but it points to what we all hear about but never tend to see: Drug addiction really is a family affair. It can run in families, and, even when it doesn't, it affects the entire family. I hope however it happens this family can work through their issues and get the help they need.
Do money smarts make for a better marriage?
Just for moms, Just for dads, Love & sex, Money & work, Life & style
There's that age-old saying that you should marry for love, not for money. I am not sure whether there is any truth to that, but I can say one thing about the subject. Based on my experience, whether you have a lot or a little of it, money does play an important factor in your marriage. More so of importance, however, is how you treat what you have, what you plan to do with it, and how communicative and honest you are with your spouse about all of it.
A marriage, whether you want to believe it or not, is a bit of a business partnership. Both sides enter into some sort of agreement and bring various assets to the nuptial table. The best marriages aren't necessarily those of the richest folks, but they do seem to be of the sort wherein both people involved are partners in how the finances are handled, both knowing as much as possible about money and available options of what to do with it, generally in order to make enough of it for the business to survive.
A recent New York Times article on the subject of marriage and money would tend to agree with me. The author points out that marrying for love is kind of a new thing--arranged marriages used to be the way of the world, and still is for many, where political, social and economic advantages are to be gained by the union of two people and the bringing together of two families. The article basically says that people should marry their financial soul mates--that you should find the person who shares the same philosophy about wealth and money as you do--in order to have a successful marriage. My belief? You can have your cake and eat it too. The article offers some of those ever-helpful hints and tips in this regard, including using a mediator to help with money matters, maintaining some financial independence, and running the home like a business.
Piggy banks pic by Megapixel Eyes.
Boyfriend barely meets dad who pipes up
Teens & tweens, Just for dads, Love & sex
It's not exactly the preferred way to find out your fifteen-year-old daughter has a boyfriend, but I guess it will make for an interesting story down at the pub on a Saturday night. Raul Colon got up at four in the morning to let his dog out, just as he does every morning. This time, however, he heard noises coming from his daughter's bedroom. After grabbing a pipe from the garage, he went to investigate.What he found was not a prowler, but a fifteen-year-old boy standing naked on his daughter's bed. Colon swung and hit the boy who promptly took off. The boy's sister later took him to the hospital where he had cuts on his head treated with staples. According to the daughter, she had been seeing the boyfriend for more than a year; He had snuck in her window around three in the morning to have sex with her. Colon was arrested but released after posting bail.
Personally, I'm opposed to violence, but I can't say I wouldn't react the same way if I came in and found a naked guy in my teenage daughter's bedroom at four in the morning. How about you?
"Goodnight Bush" - Goodnight Moon for grownups
Just for moms, Just for dads, Fun & activities, Weird but true, That's entertainment
I think right about now we could all use some hilarity. The economy is in the toilet. We're still in the middle of a war. You know--all that business. Well, here's a little something that might bring a smile to your otherwise foreclosure-filled day.
Based on the old standby and children's classic, Goodnight Moon, the parody Goodnight Bush follows President Bush through his nightly routine before bedtime. The hardback book, by Eric Origen and Gan Golen, leaves no piece of the original unspoofed, right down to using Vice President Dick Cheney as the 'quiet old woman' character. Never mind that he's holding a shotgun as he sits in that rocking chair (which is adorned with a skull and crossbones).
All in all, it's pretty funny. Whether you like Bush and/or approve of him as a president, I think you will get a kick out of this little hardback. The authors refer to the book as a "visual requiem" of the last eight years that were Bush's Presidency. Agree with it or not, it's still pretty darned amusing. At least it was when I perused it on Amazon.com last night while awaiting the return of Karate Kid on late night television.
