Help Fathers be Dads

I recently came across this article on MSN Lifestyles and thought it appropriate for this blog. This article talks about how Fathers can become Dads by investing time and sharing their interests with their children.

Personally, there isn't another thing that I would rather do that be with my children; my family. So many guys seem to think that being with their children is babysitting, and 'womens' work. They don't know what they are missing, or maybe they do and their so self centered that they don't care...

Hopefully this article is passed on to those fathers who need a nudge (clue) on becoming a dad...

Georgia's Baggy Pants Ban

Have you heard about the amendment sponsored by councilman in the State of Georgia that would ban baggy pants? This past week there was an interview on TV with this guy...

As I was watching, I couldn't help but think of how this new fashion statement compares to when Elvis Presley became popular. Wasn't there this same kind of negative attitude towards youth and change then? Didn't the 'older' generation discourage kids from dancing a certain way and listening to rock and roll or even ban certain types of dancing and music altogether?

Wait, what country is this happening in? The land of the free? Apparently the land of the free needs more rules and regulations. With our freedom we all have choices. This means we must decide how to conduct ourselves. Maybe we have forgotten the level of responsibility that we must have to keep our freedom. This responsibility includes considering how the choices we make effect others and their freedom.

Consideration for others begins at home, as does self respect, social etiquette, and personal financial responsibility. When did we as a country stop teaching these things at home? When will we, as a country, start? Isn't this one of the responsibilities that come with our freedom? Will we ignore our responsibility and simply continue making laws that infringe on our freedoms? I hope not...

General Patton, Iraq and Iran

This video from Youtube.com was mentioned on foxnews.com today. If you haven't seen it already, watch it now. Turn down the volume, some of the language might not be appropriate for all the ears that might be around you. Funny at times, but truly provoking. Let me know what you think.

Frugal Parenting

In todays world of immediate gratification, we need to teach our kids to keep a level head and to be patient when it comes to material things.

Today I posted on Money and Credit the fifth of five posts about frugal living, this one called The Frugal Parent. Take a look at it and please feel free to leave comments with any more tips and advise that you can offer.

Listenin' to music with my boy...

All day I work. Toil with the day to day demands of the boss and clients. Then, totally spent, I come home. What a supreme pleasure and honor it is to be with my two boys. To see them playing in the yard, having squirt gun fights, getting totally soaked and laughing and loving! It's an awesome privilege to be their dad!

Now, at the end of the day, I'm sitting here with my oldest, listening to music from The Fray, "Over My Head" is playing, and he's helping make sure that my punctuation is correct!

Every day is Father's Day for me!

They're watching

How many times have we heard that we ought set an example, and not be an example? How often is that advise unheeded?

I know that it is hard, but when we have young impressionable people looking to and counting on us to teach them how to be adults, we really don't have the luxury of acting how we might feel.

We learn to socialize by watching how others socialize. We don't learn social skills by having heart to heart talks or by asking to 'do as I say, not as I do'.

What are we doing when our kids are watching? How can we expect them to do anything different when we're not watching?

Let's remember as we go about our days, our kids will copy us... We are mentoring our kids whether we want to or not.