Oh No You Didn't!

It's Friday afternoon and I'm about to let my wife know (because I'm conscientious) that I'm planning on playing golf with my friends Sunday afternoon. I say, "Hey Honey, on Sunday..." and that's when I get stopped dead in my tracks.

She calmly responds, "Before you plan anything, we have breakfast with Leslie and David at 8, Eathan's birthday party at 12, and dinner with my parents at 5. So, what were you saying?"

What? First of all, who's Eathan and when was she going to tell me about all of these plans. It turns out Eathan is a cousin on her side (there's so many...how am I supposed to remember) and she knew about all of the plans for at least two weeks. Geez...nothing like waiting until the last minute to tell someone.

Sound familiar? I've never really understood why she makes plans and waits to tell me. It's like I'm on a need-to-know basis and don't need to know until I decide to schedule a tee time. Needless to say, I put my foot down and had a fun-filled day of golf...yea, right! Breakfast was good, I had plenty of cake at Eathan's party and enjoyed a nice steak with my wife's parents.

Last Friday, however, my wife elevated her game to new heights. In her usual style, she let me know about last minute plans. This time it was a sleepover at my house. My 7 year-old invited a classmate to spend the night at our house. There's nothing greater on a Friday night after a long week than two giggly 7 year-olds screaming and running around the house.

Again, a little advance warning might be nice. The kicker, though, was what she said next. She tells me that she didn't realize that she planned it on the same night that she's going scrapbooking with her friends. Wait a minute! Let me get this straight. She plans a sleepover on the night that I'm most tired. Then, she won't even be there. There is some serious making up to do on her part.

The sleepover, as it turned out, was fine, but I won't let her know that. I think I'll file that one away for a while. I'm sure something will come up that I can cash that one in on.

There's a lot of us dads out there!

We've all had moments in which we wished our kids came with instructional manuals. Even though they don't...trust me, I've asked more than once...there are several sites out there that can help. Here is a short list I have come across. Share more! 

1. Dictionary for Dads - This site is great because, as the name implies, there is a vast amount of information. The goal of the site is to provide as much information about parenting as possible. Some of the information is directed specifically for dads. Some of the topics include: how to change a diaper, teething aids, daddy's lullabies, dad's internet safety, and much more! 

 2. Great Dad - On the home page there is the following message: "Because dads don't always think like moms." It presents itself as an online parenting resource with dad's point of view. It includes tips and news on parenting. The tips are organized by children's age groups. The site offers various medical and parenting resources as well as humor for dads. There's a valuable section called "We Recommend" that gives dads the opportunity to find out what other dads have purchased and why. 

 3. Dads Rights - This site has a very specific audience, but it is very important. It offers laws and rights associated with divorce, custody, and child support. It's organized by state because different states have different laws and rights for dads facing these situations. 

 4. Dads Adventure - This site offers advice for new dads. It gains trust through credibility. The site says the information is gained from over 200,000 fathers and has been reviewed by researchers to ensure accuracy. The site has articles and magazines. Two great features are the video section and the "ask dad" section. The videos are clips by real dads showing how to do a variety of parenting related activities that new dads might be unsure about (changing diapers, burping a child, holding a child, swaddling a child, etc.). The "ask dad" section allows visitors to post a question and have an experienced dad respond. 

 5. Fathers.com - This site is for new and veteran fathers. It has excellent articles organized by age level. It also has articles organized by the situation each father is in (adoptive dad, divorced dad, at-home dad, etc.). Another important section is "Hot Topics" featuring articles about daughters, sons, discipline, sex, education, etc.

Welcome to A Side of Dad

It's not that as her dad, I don't have opinions about whether or not my seven year-old child has a snack before dinner or gets to stay up past her bedtime on a school night to finish the episode of Sponge Bob. I do. I just got tired of "the look" from my wife.

I'm not really sure why mom has rule making and veto power in our house (and my house growing up and my friends' houses). Perhaps the person who carries the child inside her uterus for nine months is tacitly awarded majority parent voting rights. Hard to argue with that!

And although fathers might not always get their way or might disagree with mom's way of doing something, we still play an important role and get to enjoy the amazing experiences of being a parent. As an added bonus mom might even let us make a decision or two every once in a while to let us think we are in charge.

To be honest, most of the blogs about parenting that I have seen are published by moms. They are all mostly well written and offer great stories, insight and advice. However, dads need a stronger voice. My hope for this blog is that fathers can come together and share similar stories, insight and advice...from a dad's perspective. The stories are meant to be lighthearted and who knows...maybe we'll even learn something along the way.