Two Birds and an Egg…

Momma went to Grandma’s house today to get ready for Ace’s big birthday party tomorrow, so it was a guys house today.  Me and Ace doing what guys do best…a whole lotta nothing.  😀

Nah, we did more than nothing.  We spent most of the afternoon outside swinging on the swingset, throwing the ball, and playing in the sandbox.  We went for a walk and watched the birds sing back by the creek.  It was a great Dad/Son boding day…

After dinner I gave Ace a bath and then started to read him a story before bedtime.  The book was about two birds that found an egg in their nest…it was not their egg, but they decided to sit on it anyways.

About three pages into the book Ace got up off my lap and ran over and started playing with one of his toys.  Yup, the book was soooo exciting that even a two year old lost interest after three pages…

But guess who kept on reading…to himself.  You guessed it.  I found myself so mystified by what actually might be in that egg that I kept reading the book to myself…out loud and all energetic like I was reading to Ace.

As I flipped through the pages of the book in suspense of what was in the egg I thought to myself…”Why the hell are you still reading this?”…but, I couldn’t stop.

Maybe it’s an overdose of Moose and Zee, the Backyardigans, Dora, and Pinky Dinky Doo that have brought my judgment on what is entertaining to an all time low.   You ever found yourself excited when Wonder Pets comes on the TV so that you can sing along with the song?  Please say yes… 😀

Dad’s Can Do Anything!

Part of being a Dad, at least for me, is getting to fix things and put things together.  Sometimes it can be fun!  For example, putting together your kids first bike, easy bake oven, or something else that you know they will love.

However, sometimes it can be not so much fun.  For example, crawling through fiberglass insulation in a 120 degree attic to install an attic fan. (I think I sweat about 10 gallons that day.)  😀

A few posts ago I told you about our good deal on the pool.  Well, who gets to put this pool up?  Dad, of course. (Momma helped too. I can’t take all of the credit.)

One of the important things about putting in an above ground pool is having the ground level.  If it is not level the pool will be deeper on one side than the other.  A few inches is no big deal, but much over that and you start to have major problems.

Our back yard already had a big dip in it where the people that lived here before us had a pool and took it with them. We figured our pool would go right there…because it is the most level spot in our back yard…so I thought.

It took us three days to till up the dirt and level it out with garden rakes to our satisfaction.  While not perfect, it is close enough.  Then we put down 18 bags of play sand.  (The dude at Home Depot probably thought we built the biggest sand box EVER!)

Next the pool liner, support frame, pump and hoses, and finally the water…6000 gallons of it. (I’m dreading the water bill next month) 😀

After all of that we were left with a functioning above ground pool filled with water so cold that my nipples almost popped right off my body when I jumped in.  😆

After a few days the water temp is tolerable…about 76 degrees…and my nips are much happier now.

Looks like we have a summer full of fun in the sun ahead of us!  😀

The Intex Pool Put Together

Grandpa’s Glory – Part II

Back in October, I wrote a post about Ace’s Grandpa, my Dad.  Ace and his Grandpa didn’t get a long too good at first.  Grandpa would say “Hi!” and Ace would scream like a banshee!

It was tough on Grandpa, but things have been getting better…

Ace, Momma, and I spent all weekend at Grandpa’s just hanging out and swimming in the pool!  We had a blast and got some nice tan lines as a result. 😀

As you probably know, Ace loves to ride on the mower, and when Grandpa started his up Ace wasn’t going to quit until he was taken for a ride.  It wasn’t hard for Ace to convince his Grandpa for a quick ride on the mower, but a quick ride turned into 20-30 minutes of lapping the yard.  😀

Grandpa and Ace Riding On The Mower

And after a long day in the sun, nothing is better than a nap in the recliner…

Grandpa and Ace Napping In The Recliner

It makes me think back to when my Grandpa took me for rides on his mower.  Something I will never forget!  I’m going to have to dig up some pictures of me riding on my Grandpa’s mower and napping in his recliner…and post them here of course.  😀

Sometimes it’s scary how much Ace and I are alike… 😀

Dad’s In The Media

Many of the commercials and TV shows that I have seen in the past portray Dads as nimwits when it comes to taking care of their kids. I’m not going to give examples. If you want some, just watch prime time TV…or read TipDad’s Devolution of the American Man.

I saw this Huggies commercial and cracked up! While this Dad can not successfully change a diaper without making a mess, at least Huggies has recognized that Dads change diapers too… Progress?

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I’ve recently joined a “Man Panel” where I take periodic surveys to help improve the image of men in the media. Hopefully my opinion helps… 😀

ASIDE: I’m on Plurk! I like it much better than Twitter so far! If you are on Plurk too add me as a friend! My username is DadThing. Visit my profile here.

White Trash Is Contagious!

Remember the post I wrote a while back titled, Momma’s Going To Kill Me!?

I confessed to having a small addiction to free things that have wheels and a motor. Momma commented on the post and was joking about how we may need a permit and a taller fence due to all of the junk piling up behind our shed…and she suggested that I may be white trash (As if it isn’t obvious). Remember that?

Well, look what I captured on the digital camera the other day…

Momma and Ace On The John Deere

Sorry Momma! Looks like I must be rubbing off on ya a little bit. 😀

(I can’t lie…if anyone has rubbed of on anyone, it has been her rubbing off on me. I was full fledged white trash before…now I just have some white trash tendencies.)

Ace loves riding the mower around the yard (almost as much as I do), and I do not blame Momma one bit for temporarily white trashin’ it up and cruising around the yard with her little man! 😀

As you probably remember, I found this mower for free on Craigslist! I knew it didn’t run, but when I went to pick it up I found out it did not have a mowing deck either. So, I planned on it being a “lawn tractor”…not a “lawn mower”. Many of you even suggested turning it into a racing tractor (which I seriously considered) 😆

Well, that has all changed thanks to some awesome folks Momma and I had the pleasure to meet last weekend!

After the first post about the old John Deere 56 tractor I got an email. The email was from a guy named Jerry in the Pittsburgh area who reads DadThing. Jerry said that he had a mower deck for this mower that I could have for free! Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-FREE!

Sweet Jesus! There’s that “F” word again! I just can’t help myself! 😀

Last weekend Momma and I drove to Pittsburgh, PA (we spared Ace the 6 hours of being in the car since he just got done with a 28 hour car ride) and met a really cool family…Jerry, Lynn, and Tyler.

When we arrived Jerry asked, “Where’s Ace?” Which caught me off guard because we have never met before, but then I realized he reads DadThing. He knew all about our trip to COSI and our trip to Iowa. It was kinda cool for me to meet someone that actually reads the stuff I write!

Jerry didn’t know Momma’s name, so he referred to Momma…well, as Momma! I loved it! 😆

Jerry and Lynn have a cute baby boy named Tyler who, at only 7 months old, already has his very own awesome Camaro! Guess what! Dad Jerry (who is a very involved father as well) has a cool Camaro too and plans on drag racing (and beating) his son some day! 😀

Thanks Jerry, Lynn, and Tyler for the mower deck! Hopefully I’ll post some pictures of it chopping up some grass in the near future.

It was a pleasure meeting and talking with you! And Jerry, make sure to send me a video of that drag race one of these days! I got this funny feeling Tyler is going to whoop your butt! 😆

In no way shape or form am I implying that Jerry, Lynn, or Tyler are white trash by mentioning their names in this extremely well titled post! Unless being white trash really is contagious…then they may have caught it from me and will be mutating to white trash in the very near future 😆

Hostinger