parenting
A Fuss can be turned to a Plus
At certain stages in every childs life they tend to be more tempremental than others. These times can be difficult for parents, especially when tantrums and serious behavior come into play. I will admit i have become frustrated at times when my son refuses to listen and doesnt seem to want to be entertained. It sometimes feels like you have lost control and there is nothing you can do. We know this isnt an option ,so redirecting your child can be a great way to counteract these behaviors. By taking my son outside or changing up the scenery seems to be effective or bring out a toy that isnt always played with. Its amazing how quickly this can be effective a complete 180 degree turn in a few seconds. From a parents perspective this is priceless. next time your child is having a hard time, being fussy or acting out try changin up the scene. The mood of your kid and ultimately yourself will be improved.
Small Changes to Change the World
Everyday as consumers we purchase products in the marketplace. There are usually several brands to choose from and by choosing a brand we are in a sense casting a vote. That dollar spent is keeping corporation X in business. This corporation may or may not practice good ethics or environmentally safe guidelines. I was shocked to learn that PVC is found in most toys. PVC is one of the least recyclable of all plastics, vinyl chloride is a chemical used to make PVC and is a known human carcinogen. Lead and cadmium are also contained in PVC and as it breaks down these chemicals can be relesed into your home and to your child. Remember these are toys kids put in their mouths and play with everyday.
Summer Sweets and Healthy Treats
My son has grown up fast. From eating solid foods to being extremely mobile, he is a handful to keep up with and is already eating a variety of foods. He wants whatever he sees and one of his all time favorites is fruit. Bannanas, grapes, cherries,(pitted of course), and berrries, berries , berries. Here are two easy to prepare snacks that can be stretched out over a few days and the kids love them. Take all the fruits that your children like, maybe even a few they arent so fond of and make a fruit salad. this will keep for a couple days in the fridge. Goes great with breakfast cereal, a side dish with lunch or just a healthy snack. Another favorite at our house is popcicles. We have been making some popcicles at home. The kids love to help and this is another great use for that cut up fruit that was prepared a day or two ago. Be sure to use 100% fruit juice and mix the chuncks of fruit into the juice and if you have popcicle tupperware simply add the juice and fruit , freeze and enjoy! a sure hit on a hot day,(and its healthy too). Popcicle sticks and small cups will work as well and your kids will love you for the tasty treats.
Enjoy Every Moment
As my son has grown the changes which he goes through from day to day have increased. He might be doing something new and exciting one day and a day or two later he is doing something completely different. He is growing very fast as well, he is outgrowing clothes in a month or two and is beginning to navigate around. Soon he will be on the go and hard to keep up with.
Parenting needs constant adjustment to keep up with these changes. Keeping your children entertained and busy can be a challenge, but dont let these changes go unnoticed. A child may do something for a short time and then be done with it. A lot of the things young children do is only for a short time, so dont miss a day. In my opinion we are always playing catch up to our children.
Christmas Tree Fun at Loch Lolly Farms
Located off of Highway 26 (click here for directions) is Loch Lolly Christmas Forest, an excellent place to get Christmas trees and much much more. Loch Lolly has a wide array of different sizes and varieties to choose from, we definitely had a very enjoyable experience and ended up with the perfect tree.
Loch Lolly Christmas Forest & Gift Shop opens the weekend of November 22nd & 23rd, then opens daily beginning November 28th for the 2008 Christmas season. Our hours are 9 AM to 5 PM.
This year we will offer u-cut and pre-cut Christmas trees. Customers have said they love to come to Loch Lolly but don’t always want to cut their own tree. So now we have done the job for you. Each day you will be able to choose the perfect tree from our many beautiful pre-cut trees.
If you are in need of a tree or a holiday gift before that time, we would be more than happy to help you. Loch Lolly Christmas Forest & Holiday Gift Shop will be open each day.
I will be posting pictures of our Loch Lolly tree soon, please stay tuned!
Need Reason to Give Thanks?
Talkin’ with some friends at work today and the subject of Thanksgiving came up. I listened as everyone shared their plans and thought about mine. What a great celebration, a day to give thanks for all of the luxuries we have the pleasure of living with. I have never been at a loss for things to be thankful about on Thanksgiving, but shouldn’t we be giving thanks everyday?
We do live in one of the richest countries in the world and we have more food and medicine than we could ever use. Well so far anyways…. More than half of the people in the world live on less than $2 a day, and I know that they give thanks for the things that they have… but what are those things? Maybe just a meal (or even less than what we consider to be a meal), rain to grow food, a day without a military attack or death in the family.
Those of us who are fortunate enough to be with family this thanksgiving, make sure to take this opportunity to tell the loved ones around you how much they mean to you. If you do not have family to be with this holiday, there is always room at TadtheDad’s table, just hit me up…
Best wishes to everyone during this 2008 holiday season!
Halloween is Here
The leaves have changed color and are falling from the trees. The air is crisp and cool and we have our jack-o-lanterns carved and ready for Halloween. This is a great time of year in my opinion, sports fans have no shortage of action. Football, baseball world series, NBA basketball, hockey and the list goes on. The kids are pumped up for Halloween night and with school back in swing there is a sense of urgency added to everyone’s schedules. The long lazy days of summer have passed and we are heading into the holiday season.
Halloween is a time to express ourselves and change our appearance. All of this coming at the same time of year when Mother nature is expressing herslf by changing the landscape. Whether you are getting dressed up and going to a party or just taking your kids out for a night of trick or treating TadTheDad asks you to be safe and dress warm, and not to let the elements send you home early!
I will be posting pictures of the kid’s Halloween costumes when everything is done. Pierece will be a Frog, my niece will be Dorothy and I am going to be TadTheDad :) I actually had some T-Shirts made as well as Hoodies with the TadTheDad.com logo. Check it out…
Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!
People and Animals Are Great We Should Respect All of Them
I have three dogs in my care, Brownie, Austin and Rex. They are all large dogs and can be quite cumbersome at times. Walking the three of them and doing just about anything can be a real challenge. However they are my good friends and I am willing to go out of my way. Animals in general are an important and valuable part of a family. I introduced my son to Brownie, (a Chesapeake Bay Retriever), at a young age. He liked the feel of her soft fur and would put his bare feet on her back and smile. He is now old enough to pet and get kisses from the dogs which he loves and the dogs enjoy the young spirit of a boy who is fascinated with their every move. They have become as good of friends as anyone can and I feel that the presence of animals, dogs in my case, enriches ones life to an extent which is hard to match.
We enjoy taking the dogs with us when we leave the house. Sometimes to just run errands but a good trip to the dog park or a hike is what we are really all about. The Portland metro area offers some wonderful parks including some dog parks. Great places to take the family or the dogs or both. I live in Beaverton and get to take advantage of Tualatin Parks and Rec. department and the great job they do of providing an array of different park settings at a variety of locations.
I try to live a positive life and have been working at projecting my positive out look to others. Whether it be a stranger at the park or a friend who i see often. The attitude we carry around rubs off on others. This works with a negative or positive attitude, but the positive can overcome the negative. By not letting that negative comment or vibe effect us we reduce that instant of negativity to a second or two out of the day. Now it is easy to let something small balloon into a, “Bad Day”, but stay positive and dont let that negativity get past you. We all have the choice to brush things off and I would encourage everyone to be conscious of how positive or negative their attitude really is.
In a time where there is economic and financial uncertainty it is easy to think,” woe is me what are we ever going to do?” Focus on the reason we do the things we do. We go to work to support the things we embrace. Maybe the money isn’t as good and its easy to worry and be negative, the media along with others in the community are telling us how bad things are. I am focusing on the things that really matter, my best friend/girlfriend, my son, my dogs, my family and friends. Those other things are important but not so important that they are going to rock my core. Stay positive and keep your focus, the things that matter haven’t changed!
Visiting Sauvie Island Farms Pumpkin Patch
As you pull up to Sauvie Island Farms you see the field of corn sprawling out and then the patch of pumpkins beyond that. The rock climbing wall towers over the parking lot and the super slide is bright and colorful. To a kid a dream come true, and as it turned out the parents had fun too. The corn field doubles as a maze and there were hay rides to the pumpkin patch and back. They even maintain their own Sauvie Island Farms blog with up to date farm news on whats ripe, going on etc.. cool. The caramel corn was excellent and the kids had a great time. We spent a couple of hours playing before we set out in search of the perfect pumpkin and believe it or not everyone found their perfect pumpkin!
The drive to Sauvie Island is between 30 and 40 minutes from Portland and is well worth it. I love our city of Portland but it is nice to leave the city. I enjoy driving through the country side and once you are on Sauvie Island I encourage you to explore. There are more than a hand full of small family owned farms and great hideaway beaches. The drive is great and even if you aren’t in search of a pumpkin there is still plenty to see and do on the Island.
The kids got the pumpkins they wanted and complimentary cocoa and cider were a nice added bonus. We got some great photos, the hay bail pyramid was my favorite, and there was no shortage of things to do. The kids were asleep halfway home and a good time was had by all, young and old alike. 
Check out the Photos page for all the pics…
Welcome to TadTheDad.com!
TadTheDad.com is a concept that started as many things do, with two people just sitting around talking. After hearing my stories of being a new parent my friend jokingly dubbed me ‘Tad the dad.’ We laughed and rolled with it for a bit. A good time was had by all (at my expense), even my girlfriend got involved making fun of the new catch phrase. Though ‘Tad the dad’ stuck with me for a few days and I got to thinking….What could I do as this Tad the dad? There had to be something that ‘Tad the dad’ had to offer. Even though I was lacking in the super hero power department, I still felt like I had something to give, whether a laugh or some helpful advice. I wanted to share my experiences as a parent with the world so I am starting a blog!
Blogging and the idea of being able to do this with my son have really become attractive to me. I ultimately would like to be able to spend as much time with my family as possible, be able to do fun things, write about it and get paid, but life is never that simple. Is it?
Hopefully my experiences as a parent and family man can be helpful or just provide a simple laugh in the daily grind we call life. I do enjoy some free time as well. All the parents and non-parents alike take some time for themselves every so often. If you don’t you should. I’m becoming more of a connoisseur of fine cigars; I also have a strong appreciation for wines of the region, Northwest varietals to be more specific. I enjoy paring cigars and fine wine, also occasionally food and wine as well. I hope my suggestions are flavorful and pleasing to the palate. Check out the ‘About Me’ section if you are interested in learning a little more, and of course please stay tuned…
Quick Updates
- hanging with @kevinfox talking about how to save the world and working on my blog. 2008-11-22
- got my first bit of link love, http://twurl.cc/6n2 thanks @Feelslikehome 2008-10-29
- Pierce is having a great time playin with my phone so we send a tweet out. 2008-10-29
- Funny Retweet, Pierce is starting to talk: @ckjchambers details of a parenting experiment which started today up http://tinyurl.com/62x62t 2008-10-25
- digging @Feelslikehome's blog: http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/ Mom, blogger, crafter, foodie, freelance writer/editor 2008-10-25
- More updates...
Posting tweet...
