A Top 5 for Sunday Morning: The ideal day versus reality

Posted on September 22, 2013 by vincentvicari

Sunday’s are interesting days. Sometimes they are filled with relaxation and football. Some of us worship in our respective ways. Others spend the day with family around a table eating. Still others need the time to mow the lawn and do all the things they didn’t get to during the week.

I started thinking about what I do on Sundays. Sometimes I end up doing basically what I don’t want to be doing. So what are five things I think most dad’s ideal Sunday would be:

Watching football, baseball or golf.
Eating.
Not doing yard work.
Sleeping past 7 am.
Checking the football schedule for next Sunday.

The items above make a great plan. Below are the five things that will actually happen today:

Watch cartoons to keep the little one happy.
Hopefully eat lunch sometime between 12 pm and 2 pm.
Mow the lawn.
I was up at 6:30 am.
There is no point in checking next Sunday’s NFL schedule.

Enjoy your Sunday!

I hope you enjoyed this post. All comments and feedback are welcome and encouraged!

Life In the Inflatable Family Pool

Posted on August 28, 2013 by vincentvicari

My wife and I purchased an inflatable pool with the hope Little A would like to take a dip. Unfortunately, when proceeding to lower him in, he simultaneously raises his legs and begins to cry.

He wants nothing to do with the pool.

We’ve tried several times with no luck. I only filled it with maybe two inches of water. The same result each time. While one of us lowers him in to what he believes is the Atlantic Ocean, he looks at the other parent and cries.

So, what do any self-respecting parents do? We went for a swim ourselves. The pool is 110-inches so it’s more a family size pool and not conducive to actually swimming. Nothing spectacular to say the least.

While sitting in our inflatable pool, bathing suits and all, my wife and I looked at each other and realized, this just wasn’t what we hoped it would be. Pools, at least in the back yard, really are more for the kids. I’m sure we looked just as ridiculous as we felt, but there is a point to this: enjoy it.

It was a small moment in life where mommy and daddy got to enjoy a ridiculous but humorous few minutes together. Instead of taking some time to stop and smell the roses, we stopped and sat in the inflatable pool.

Life is surely too short to not enjoy these moments together. It helps to foster the relationship which in turn makes a happier home for the little one. This was a win-win situation to me.

As for Little A and the pool, there’s always next summer.

I hope you enjoyed this post. As always comments are welcome and encouraged!

How To Watch A Movie On Netflix With a One-Year-Old

Posted on August 11, 2013 by vincentvicari

Image via CrunchBase

How do you watch a movie on Netflix with a one-year-old? You don’t really. At least not one that you want to actually watch. I will use my wife as an example. Sorry honey.

The other day, my wife queued up Playing for Keeps with Gerard Butler and Jessica Biel. Dennis Quaid was there too. Back to my story, the run time for the movie is 1 hour and 45 minutes. I believe she finished watching the film in 3 hours.

The hope was to view the film, in its entirety, while Little A napped. Unfortunately, Little A knew mommy wanted to do something for herself. Little A would go to his crib, stay quiet for a short time, then up again. The beauty of Netflix is you can stop and restart as often as you like.

Approximately five interruptions (I stopped counting after three), and my wife finished the movie. This is a note to all you new parents and expecting ones, enjoy your own time now. It’s not all bad, you will come to realize the time spent with your kids is far more valuable than catching up on your television shows or even reading a book. You’ll have plenty of time for those things later.

As for the movie Playing for Keeps, I asked my wife and she was just glad we didn’t pay actuall dollars to go see it.

My Coffee Addiction: A Not So Unhealthy Problem

Posted on May 28, 2013 by vincentvicari

Coffee. What would parents do without the java? I believe I wouldn’t be able to function. I must admit, I, like most of the world, have a coffee addiction. As a dad to a near one-year-old, I’m OK with that.

Let’s face the truth, coffee is an essential part of modern living for many of us. My wife however, doesn’t touch the stuff. She doesn’t like the taste. Depending on the brand, she doesn’t even like the smell. In fact, during her pregnancy, I was exiled to brewing my coffee in the garage. Yes, the garage.

This morning for example, Little A woke us up at approximately 1:30 am. The red digits on the alarm clock were blurry at that time in the morning. Something was bothering the little one and the only remedy was mommy. He wanted nothing to do with me. So I did what any good dad would do, and went back to bed. Before anyway criticizes me for abandoning my wife in the situation, she told me to go back to bed and meant it.

The situation came full circle as I couldn’t fall asleep. It just wasn’t happening. So much for getting the spousal reprieve. Finally, around 6:00 am, is when I passed out.

By 7:30 I was up again, and by 8 on my way to Dunkin’ Donuts. I don’t know about everyone else, but I run on Dunkin.

Without coffee, I’m not sure what the day would bring. I’m not sure I would function accordingly. Least of all, I would be no use at work or home, let alone blogging. I may have a coffee addiction, but this is one I will gladly continue.

What’s most interesting, is coffee consumption isn’t exactly a bad thing. Check out Coffee Can Help You Live Longer. Do you want more antioxidants? Read 9 Amazing Benefits Of Coffee. Finally, some good advice from the Mayo Clinic.

A note about my personal habit, I try to limit myself to less than 20 ounces per day of the coffee. Let’s face it, most coffee drinks don’t really go by cups, but liquid ounces.

Drink up dad’s. But not too much.

Sunday Morning Musings: The Madness Of March

Posted on March 24, 2013 by vincentvicari

March is madness. This weekend everything planned. The new kitchen faucet purchased and waiting. The silicone was warm in the tube. The tools laid out like a surgeon ready to work magic. The best plans, never seem to work out.

Back up to Thursday morning. The early morning hours just before sunrise I’m driving to work. Strange I thought, the road not quite as bright as usual. My driver-side headlight blew. Frustrating to say the least. Eyes searching for the ever watchful law enforcement hiding along the side of the road.

Thursday itself was mundane yet long due to egos and attitudes. Friday couldn’t come soon enough. When it did, said attitudes didn’t change. Still perplexed as to why adults act worse than my nine-month-old.

Saturday, 9:00 am, the day of faucet replacement. I’m truly excited. I’m a man! Man must do things with tools. Man use tools. Man start to sound like tool, (insert incoherent grunt). Almost immediately, sophisticated man is stopped by old rust and nonremovable faucet. Man perplexed. Wife is chuckling.

Saturday, 11:30 am, suddenly, man finds himself driving to warehouse home improvement store with wife and child to find the right sink to go with new faucet.

Saturday, 12:00 pm, must rush home as baby son needs feeding as he indicated with banshee-like screams in warehouse store. Fortunately, new sink in trunk.

Saturday, 2:00 pm, grandparents show up. Grandma wanting to do early Easter gifts. Gramps remembering his youthful exuberance and plumbing tools. Sparing silicone-covered details, daddy endures several more trips to home improvement store.

Saturday, 6:00 pm, grandparents having left two hours earlier, daddy is watched by Little A, as daddy reinstalls the new sink, faucet, and trap. Medicinal alcohol chilling in refrigerator to lower daddy’s blood pressure.

Saturday, 10:30 pm, cranky son, exhausted parents, and new kitchen sink are all finally asleep.

Sunday, 8:30 am, remember blow headlight? Daddy can be found in cold driveway installing replacement bulb. Sunday Morning Musing post on his mind. Crap, friends are coming over before lunch.

March is madness. I remember once filling out boxes on paper. I believe they are referred to as “brackets.” Maybe one day again, my March of mayhem will simply be watching my teams get picked-off one by one. March is madness.

A Quote On Peace

Posted on March 23, 2013 by vincentvicari

This morning I read some news articles of rather tragic consequence. They discussed crime, specifically gun violence where the victims were children. This is heartbreaking. I won’t go into the many aspects that create violence in our society. The issue is multi-faceted to say the least. I normally like to stay positive here on The Evolving Dad, so I found a quote that sums up how I’m feeling this Saturday morning:

“Those who are war with others, are not at peace with themselves.”

-William Hazlitt

What In The He%^ Is In The Chicken?

Posted on March 16, 2013 by vincentvicari

This evening was Little A’s first experience with meat. Chicken to be exact. OMG! I apologize for using the language of texting, but this is the best “word” I can use to describe the experience.

With chubby cheeks, a little of bit of drool escaping the corner of his mouth, and feet kicking wildly my son was eagerly anticipating dinner. Mommy stirred the chicken. Scooped a small amount on the spoon, and in the chicken went.

The priceless look of absolute disgust on my son’s face will never leave my memory; or the 16 GB memory card we captured it on. At this particular moment, I as a father, experienced mixed emotions. Humor at the look on his face, pity because he didn’t know how to spit out the food; and concern as to how he could not like chicken.

It was after my wife told me, and I quote, “smell this,” I realized the source of my son’s disgust. I understand that baby food is different from what we are used to eating. Yet, I’m perplexed as to who would consider what I smelled, appetizing.

I am however, encouraged as to the level of intelligence my son demonstrated this evening. He graciously spared me the experience of later having to smell the digested version of said chicken. If he understood the fist-bump I attempted to thank him with, my day would be truly complete.

Moments such as these are ones that I’m sure many parents don’t forget. It was priceless. I’m sure he will grow to like chicken, just not the kind that comes in a small jar.

Now I’m off to throw out the garbage….

A Quote On Family

Posted on March 14, 2013 by vincentvicari

The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege.

-Charles Kuralt

What Inspires You to Blog?

Posted on March 12, 2013 by vincentvicari

What inspires you to blog? I asked myself this question today. Driving home in the pouring rain, squinting to see the red brake lights in front of me, this is the thought that came to mind.

I had to back track on my thoughts. There is more to this question than I ever imagined. I truly gave myself pause. Here at The Evolving Dad I blog mainly about my experiences with fatherhood. I write some poetry, and try to speak about my aspiring writing career. However, all of it stems from my daily life. That is my inspiration.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant”

-Robert Lewis Stevenson

In recent weeks I’ve learned some friends are expecting their first child. Another friend got divorced. Yet another friend just got engaged. Sadly, I attended a wake to mourn the loss of a long-time family friend. This is life. This is my inspiration. For all our technology and interconnectedness, we easily lose sight of the events that comprise our lives. Each of these events I described write the individual histories of the people I know.

To say that family and friends are the most important things in life may be cliché. But stop for a moment and ask, what if you had no family, no friends? What would your life be then? I wrote in the Daily Prompt the other day the most important people in my life are my wife and son. It is true. Little A was the immediate inspiration for this blog. But as I go on, I realize all the people around me, the relationships I have and try to foster give me “material” to write about.

I’ve read many blogs covering everything from sports to cooking to leadership, all take inspiration from something. All are good in their own ways. Asking yourself what inspires you, to not only blog, but to pursue anything in life, is a question of the soul. I think many of us just might be surprised at the answer.

So what inspires you?

What Inspires You? (liveinspired365.wordpress.com)
The Inspiration Behind Blogging For Me Personally (prefs.zemanta.com)

Sunday Morning Musings: Generations

Posted on March 10, 2013 by vincentvicari

Over the past week I’ve found myself more aware of the similarities in my son to myself and other relatives. Small things, nothing big, but mannerisms, and actions that remind me of my dad, and grandfather. Or maybe it’s what I want to see?

Aside from looking more like me every day, (sorry mommy), the way he moans after eating a good meal reminds me of my grandfather. The devilish look he gives when he rips his sock off of his foot, after one of his parents just put it on, reminds me of my dad playing jokes on me.

Each generation has its own characteristics. Their own way of doing things. But aside from looks, it’s a pretty cool thing to see these little similarities passed down. Of course, maybe these similarities only exist in my eyes. Maybe, I want to see these similarities and they’re not really there?

I prefer my original theory that these similarities do exist from generation to generation. I think they are there and for me, that is tremendous. I’m sure many other parents out there would agree, seeing various behaviors, the little things in their kids that remind them of previous generations is a good feeling. After all, that is what makes a family, a family.