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Dad Blogs Exposed! – Honea Express

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This week I’d like to introduce you to Whit Honea, who started his Dad blog, Honea Express, way back in 2005 before Dad blogging was cool.

One of the first things I read by Whit was his post entitled “When Stuffed Animals Die” and from that moment, I was hooked! Not surprisingly, that post also got him named as a BlogHer Voices of the Year winner.

The thing I like about Whit is that he isn’t afraid to show his emotions. In fact, he himself will admit that “Every time I speak about my kids on a conference panel I wind up crying in front of everyone”. It absolutely shows in his mesmerizing posts about his family.

His writing skills are beyond anything I could dream of achieving in my lifetime, which I why I like to read his stuff and take away as much as I can. After all, there’s a reason why he’s been published by the likes of Babble, AOL, BabyCenter, The Stir, MamaPop, The Disney Blog, CBS: Los Angeles, Man of the House, UpTake & Orbitz…..Yeah, that’s a lot of writing.

Another great thing about Whit is that you can tell he cares about the people that read and take the time to comment on his stuff. The way he responds to the comments on his site and his twitter feed (@WhitHonea) show how invested he is in his craft.

Just in case writing for his own blog and the others I mention wasn’t enough, you can also catch Whit writing over at DadCentric, co-owning a production company called Limey Yank Productions and oh yeah, working on a book! Here’s an excerpt from his blog.

Not too busy though, right? I can barely find the time to write 3 posts a week so reading all of these jobs is a little overwhelming to comprehend. The best thing is that his work clearly isn’t suffering from it.

Most recently, Whit was involved in The New Face Of Dad campaign from Philips Norelco. It’s a great campaign that showcases some great Dads and really captures the way most Dads feel about parenthood. Here’s the full New Face Of Dad video and you can check out Honea Express for Whit’s personal video.

I really hope you take a few minutes to check out Whit’s blog, Honea Express, I promise you won’t be disappointed. You can also find him on Twitter @WhitHonea and on his Facebook Page. He’s also got an upcoming project with Limey Yank Productions that will be going live soon.

You can also let him know you popped in by showing him some love in the comment section below.

That wraps up another edition of Dad Blogs Exposed! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Til next time!

Cheers!

Dad Blogs Exposed! – Beta Dad

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Welcome back to Dad Bogs Exposed! Every week I will be introducing you to a new Dad blogger and today, I’m happy to introduce you to Andy Hinds, who runs the popular blog Beta Dad!

Andy was one of the first people to really make me feel like I was a part of the online Dad blog community. All he did was have a Twitter conversation with me but for most new bloggers, that’s all we really looking for. You spend a lot of time staring at your empty interactions page when you start up and it was cool of him to fill mine up a bit!

Andy is father to twin 3 year old girls, who go by the pseudonym’s of Butterbean and Cobra on the blog. At least I hope that’s their pseudonym’s….His writing has slowed down a bit since he’s rejoined the workforce but I’m guessing it’s tough to find a balance between it all, especially with twins.

You can add to that, the fact that he can also be found writing at the collaborative Dad blog DadCentric and also over at the popular blog, Aiming Low, and you can see where life would start to get a little busy.

Now, let’s get into the awesomeness that is Beta Dad! First things first, Check out this header from his website, which features his girls stomping through downtown Toyko. I knew from that moment that this was a site I was going to enjoy!

Andy is not your prototypical Dad blogger. On top of posting about his kids and family life in a sincere way, he is also not afraid to take on bigger topics, such as his thoughts on kids using the word Hate and his take on people (and brands) who think Parenting is a Job.

It’s refreshing to read someone who isn’t afraid to just tell it like it is, or at least how he sees it. I’ve dabbled in this format but I’m still trying to find my voice so I can respect how hard it is to put yourself out there like that. It’s not easy to take criticism for things you’ve written but Andy always answers the call when it happens.

Much like every other Dad blogger I talk to on the internet, I’ve never met Andy, but my interactions with him so far have been nothing but great. He seems like a nice guy and I’m happy to have stumbled upon his work. The one thing he’ll never be accused of is being a fake, that’s for sure.

He made a joke a while back that I was out to steal all the Dad bloggers jobs. Probably because Canada has a small Dad blog market, so I tend to get a lot of calls from the media. Funny how things work out that just over a month later I was trolling on Twitter and noticed his most recent work…This interview and post on HLN TV!!

Way to go Andy, you’re raising the bar for the rest of us and I, for one, accept your challenge! I look forward to fighting the good fight with you for more years to come!

If you guys are so inclined, I urge you to catch up with Andy on his home site Beta Dad. You can also find him on Twitter @BetaDad and also on Facebook.

As always, don’t forget to leave some love for our guest in the comments section. I can’t even guarantee that he’ll read this post but I’ll spam him until he does and I’m sure he’ll appreciate the kind words (or hate mail) 😀

Cheers!!

Raising Children Without A Father Of My Own

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“Daddy, did Grampy die and go to heaven?”

“You bet, buddy”

“Why?”

“He had an accident and didn’t get better, but he was a good man and gets to go to heaven”

It was 5 years ago this August and every day is a reminder of the great loss we suffered that day. My 4 year old son never met my Dad and doesn’t really understand the concept of life and death. He doesn’t understand heaven either but then again, who does?

In a cruel twist of fate, my father passed away on the same day that we found out we were pregnant with our first born. At the time, we used that as a way to help deal with the pain of the loss by saying that he lived on in my son. I never really believed it but when you lose someone, you tend to take any positive thoughts you can get.

I’m not an overly spiritual person, so to me, the reality was that it was just his time to go. It wasn’t an easy time. I went trough a very dark transition following that day and essentially missed the first year of my son’s life. Constantly feeling like my world was caving in, spending countless days and nights in hospital emergency rooms, trying to figure out what crazy disease I was suffering from this time.

It wasn’t until one of the doctor’s referred me to a psychiatrist that I really started to see what I was doing to myself and my family. I don’t know what it was that snapped me out of it. Maybe the thought of losing my wife, or knowing that I was completely letting my son down, which didn’t seem very fair considering how great my Dad was.

Point is, I decided it was time to man up and cut the “Woe is Me” act out of my day to day. Almost overnight, I managed to shake it all off and began acting like the man my family needed me to be.

I’m certainly not perfect. I have bad days just like everyone else and I don’t have all the answers to the mystery that is raising children. I’m not even a great husband but I’m working on it.

As my kids are getting older, I’m noticing more and more the extreme void that was left by my father not being here. There are so many things that I don’t know how to do and it’s frustrating/upsetting/devastating when I realize that my Dad isn’t there to ask for help.

It’s important for me to note at this point, that I mean absolutely no disrespect to the 2 men I call Father in Law’s. They have done nothing but treat me with the utmost respect and have helped myself and my family more than most people could ever understand. They’ve accepted me as if I was one of their own and I love them for that.

There’s just something about being able to talk to your Dad. To be able to ask the questions that you don’t feel comfortable asking anyone else on this earth. My Dad was a great listener too. He never once made me feel stupid for having questions or asking for help and I miss being able to do that. One of the last things he did before he passed, was to help me build a fence in my yard. Do you think I know how to do that? No way!

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will never have that luxury again, and it is a luxury. Instead, I do the uncomfortable begging to friends, family and neighbours whenever something arises that I don’t know how to do or can’t do by myself. And it happens a lot. I’m blessed with good people in my life, which makes it a little easier.

It doesn’t change the fact that I feel ridiculous to have to ask my neighbour to take time away from his family to help me install a screen door; or constantly bother my friends to help me with two man tasks that most guys my age do with their fathers.

And it still hurts when I see how much fun my friends parents have with their grandkids. In fact, anytime I see any kid with their Grandparents (even my own), I get the sting in my chest. My Dad would have been an amazing grand father. He dedicated his life to coaching kids and I know that he would have loved them to death and probably would have turned them into big time athletes!

In the end, I’m left to wonder what might have been as I navigate the often complicated world of raising children. But I’m still happy. I have a lot of amazing people in my life, who are always there for me whenever I need them. I still have my Mom, who is an amazing woman and who loves her grand kids! I love my kids and my wife and we have a great life together, filled with fun and laughter!

I know I’m not alone with this struggle either. Some of my close friends have been dealt the same cards as me, but we don’t really talk about it. Instead we act tough and pretend to be superheroes, I’d be Batman by the way, until the pain passes and we get back to normal lives.

I was lucky enough to be blessed with a great Dad and even though he left us way too soon, I have the memories and lessons he taught me. Which were many. I can only hope that someday my kids can look back and say the same about me.

What Exactly Is A “Trophy Husband”?

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It’s no secret that the number of Stay At Home Dads is on the rise. It’s also well documented that the role of the father has evolved dramatically over the last 20 years.

As a shift working Dad who is home with his kids for a good portion of the time, I had never really thought of asking for recognition for the time I spend with them. After all, I’m their Dad and also, I’m far from perfect.

While watching an ABC Nightline story on Stay At Home Dads the other night, they kept referring to the Dads as Trophy Husband’s and it threw me for a bit of a loop. In fact, a few of the points made in the 5 minute piece were slightly off putting.

I feel it’s best that you watch the clip before I continue, so my points will at least have some context.

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I watched it a couple of times and even took some time to think about how I felt about it. No ones likes people who overreact in a public forum, so I’m going to quietly make my points and move on.

The first thing that happens is predictable video of Mr. Mom with Michael Keaton, followed by a more updated but equally ridiculous video clip from “What To Expect When You Are Expecting”. Not a great start and it got worse when I heard the reporter’s opening quote.

“Today’s stay at home dad is a new breed. They push strollers with swagger, like those dads in What To Expect When You Are Expecting”.

So today’s Dads are the stereotypical movie imbecile’s, who let their babies eat cigarettes, play in the dryer and swim in toilets? Good to know. I’m used to the movie buffoon thing, it’s increasingly more annoying but I get that it’s still a movie and they need to be funny. This was supposed to be a real story about real dads and didn’t need the ridiculous reference in my opinion.

The story goes on to say that Moms on the playground refer to these Dads as “Trophy Husbands”. Which parks are these? Who are these women? I’ve been to the park with my kids a whole bunch of times and I’ve never had anyone refer to me as a Trophy…In fact, I usually end up very much ignored to play with my kids, which is perfectly fine with me.

They quote a study that says more men are staying at home because women are beginning to value high paying jobs more than men do. I don’t doubt the results of the “high paying jobs” portion of the survey but it really shouldn’t be used as an explanation as to why there are more stay at home dads. There are daycare’s after all and I think more men are just realizing how amazing it is to spend more time with their kids.

I know a few stay at home dads and a lot of dads who work jobs for a living as well. None of them are the bumbling idiots from the movies or the Al Bundy’s from TV. They’re not even the Dad from the Oscar Mayer Commercial, who thinks letting his son play with a chainsaw is a good idea, among other things. Many other things…

Most of the Dads I know are just normal guys who like to spend time with their families. They are not looking for any kind of special credits or awards. Sure, it’s nice to be complimented every now and then but we’re no different than Mom in that regard. We do the things we do for our family because it’s our family, not to become trophies for our wives or kids.

We just want to be parents, not a special exhibit at the zoo. It’s great that the new age of Dads is coming to light in the media, I just wish it didn’t have to always come with the asterisk of a clip or reference to Homer Simpson. After all this writing, I’m not sure I’ve answered the question of what a Trophy Husband is. I guess my hope is that it’s not a thing at all.

Let me leave you with an example of what I’m talking about. Here’s a video that was done right and captures real dads talking about real stuff, without the cliches. It’s really great and I hope it’s the start of a trend in recognizing that we’re not the Dads from the television set.

Cheers!!

Happy Father’s Day To All The Proud Papa’s Out There!!

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It’s finally here! The day us Dads wait for all year long! On behalf of all of us here at Canadian Dad (really, it’s just me) I’d like to wish all the wonderful Dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day!

That’s all.

What? You didn’t think I was gonna write some long winded post on Father’s Day, did you?? Instead, here’s a bunch of pictures of me with my kids! In case your Sherlock Holmes senses aren’t flowing, the above photo is of me and my Dad. He was accepting the award for lifetime achievement in volunteerism. Not a bad role model to have.

Enjoy your day Dads, you have earned it!

The Never Ending Knock Knock Joke

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You’ve heard it a million times before, “Knock, Knock!” “Who’s There?” and so on and so forth.

Rarely, if ever, are they funny enough to warrant even a phony giggle. Even the dirty adult ones aren’t overly funny.

That all changes when the joke comes out of the mouth of a small child, doesn’t it? We roar with laughter as the punchline rolls out, as if it’s the funniest thing we’ve ever heard in our lives.

The funny thing about it, for me at least, is that the laughter is completely genuine. Something about the fact that your child understands the humour in it, is comforting and hilarious at the same time.

Almost as if you have done your job as a parent by teaching your kid the lighter side of life and that being funny is okay.

That brings me to today’s post. My son, at age 4, has learned his very first Knock, Knock joke. In true child form, he immediately forgot it, which brought on this video of him reciting what may be the longest Knock, Knock joke of all time.

Enjoy!

PS – He was trying to do the one that ends with “Orange you glad I didn’t say Banana”. I tell you this because there is no way you would have guessed it from this….

Way to go buddy! Better than Daddy could do!

Cheers!

A Simple Reason Why Being a Parent Is So Incredible

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Laughter. Plain and Simple.

The ability to laugh and be goofy with my kids, for me, is by far the best thing about being a parent.

That’s about all I have to say about that. Shocking, I know! I’ll let my son say the rest.

Hope you have a great week!

Cheers!

What Do Dads Really Want For Father’s Day?

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So in a complete brain fart move, I forgot to mention that I was asked to become a part of the Parent Tested, Parent Approved (PTPA) Blogaholics team. An invitation which I proudly accepted. You can find my musings here!

The PTPA is gearing up for Father’s Day and as a father myself, they’ve enlisted me to poll other Dads in order to let them know what we think.

I’m not asking you to do a lot of work, I know how busy you all are with your blogging and kids and golf! All I need is for you to answer these two questions.

1 – What do you really want to receive for Father’s Day?

2 – How do you want to spend the day?

That’s it! Two simple questions and you’re done. Leave a comment, send me an email, FB, Twitter, you know the drill!

In the meantime, I’ll give my answers in hopes of sparking some further dialogue.

What I really want for Father’s Day is a MacBook. What? It’s what I really want! Okay, okay, what I really want is something cool from my kids. My wife comes up with the best crafty ideas for the kids to make for me and I honestly love it. Cheap but extremely effective! From paintings to photo coffee mugs, they are all incredible!

As for what I want to do that day, we have a great event happening in Ottawa, called the Alterna Ultimate Run for Men’s Cancers. It is a cancer fundraiser but also has a great kids zone with a lot of fun family things to do. I am not a runner but I’d love to spend the day there having fun with my family, while also supporting a great cause.

See, that was easy and painless. Just leave me a note in the comments section and tell me what you really want. Your wife thinks she knows….but she doesn’t know. Help her out man!

Cheers!!

Lucas Sings Episode 2: “Don’t Let Me Down, Helicopter”

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Every week, I will be posting a video of my son singing an original song. Please note that I am not forcing him to sing for his meals, like the parents on Toddlers & Tiaras. He begs for me to shoot videos of him singing his new original material Watch out Ellen, I have your new singing superstar right here!

In the second installment of Lucas Sings, my son takes us through the emotional journey of a Helicopter whos seems to have lost its way. It’s a moving piece with many ups and downs that will have you laughing, crying and wanting more.

And he accomplishes all this in only 16 seconds. Amazing!

Enjoy his newest masterpiece, which I’ve entitled “Don’t Let Me Down, Helicopter”

Cheers!

It’s A Bird. It’s A Plane. No It’s Super Mario Dad!

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My son recently turned 4 years old. Okay, give me a minute….. I can’t believe 4 years went by so fast!

Anyway, we asked him what kind of birthday party he wanted and got about 6 answers, ranging from MarioKart to Angry Birds to Wolverine??? After much deliberation and convincing, we landed on MarioKart.

What a fantastic decision it was too! There’s a growing love for all things Mario and we were able to find a ton of ideas for the party. The best part is that we were able to do a lot of it on a relatively low budget!

How about a laminated Drivers License as the guests arrived:

As for games, we had a rousing go of Pin The Mustache On The Mario:

My son had a blast!! We did have one more surprise for him though. A visit from Super Mario himself!! That’s right, I pimped out my blog for a free Super Mario costume so I could surprise him on his birthday!

I was extremely warm in the suit and the mustache kept falling off but we got through Mario Says, Mario Bingo and the aforementioned Pin The Mustache On The Mario without any problems!

Have a look at my grand entrance! I decided to go with an entrance theme as if I was a WWE wrestler. That’s just how I roll!

The joy on my son’s face says it all!

I want to leave you with a final shot from the end of the party of the two happiest parents on the earth!!

Happy Birthday Buddy!!!!

Cheers!!!