Today I cleaned the car seat after my son had thrown up his breakfast. This is not the first time that I have cleaned the car seat and it will not be the last I am sure, but while sitting in the basement scrubbing, my thoughts turned to how this unavoidable chore is really a very parallel to life itself.

Think of it, all the of life's roller-coaster ride encapsulated in a simple chore. About puke. Don't stop reading, that's not the intended metaphor.

As I recounted the day, as…

Prologue

In The Beginning

Four years and two kids into parenting, as well as full-time stay-at-home father, has taught me a thing or too. Somethings I have learned from honest mistakes, some I stumbled across and some I have been completely lucky in learning.

For the next couple posts, I will relate my experiences in an ode to the new dad. Of course, in six parts.

Pull what you need, leave the rest. Remember, these are the…

Let me paint the picture. I am standing in line at the grocery store, with two kids crying in the cart, trying to check out. The cashier asks "You having a rough day?" To which I reply, "Not at all, I am having a nice day." She looks at me, then looks at the crying kids, then frowns.

Frowns? She is upset. She thinks I am being sarcastic. But she is really upset that I said I was having a nice day when it is obvious that I have kids crying all around…

We don't have cable. TV, yes, but no cable.

The lesson that we are trying to convey to our children is that, at least for now, TV is a treat. Soon enough their lives will be inundated with TV, laptops, video games, cell phones, etc. But for now, the house is a quieter place. Countless studies have been done on the topic of children and TV and the results are never positive.

There are still shows that I watch, of course. The adage is true: you can find anything on the web.…