Newfangled Dad

I thought about making this a multi-part series, but there are other fish in the sea to blog about. So hang in there, this may get long... Drive out the tollway from Chicago past Rockford and it's a whole different landscape. Go through the Land of Cheese...past Madison, the Dells, strange places called LaCrosse or Eau Claire...and you will eventually come to the Land of Nice. To tell people from Chicago about this place makes it sound like Oz. Really it exists. (The roads are free!) It's a crazy place where when you pay for gas--with cash, no prepay necessary--the station attendant skeptically eyes your vehicle trying to decide if $40 will fit in it. "Come back for your change if it won't take it all." Umm, sure thing. It's a crazy place where drivers do something called a " zipper merge " politely taking turns letting each other into traffic via a "use all the space then be nice" philosophy. In Chicago, it's every driver for him...

Apologies, but I'm probably going to fall off the map until next week. Kelly wants to go to the  Shepherd's Harvest Sheep & Wool Festival  for Mother's Day. Yeah, I know. But it's what she specifically asked for. And the upside is that she'll get to see her own mother for the holiday. I have no interest in knitting. Or yarn. Or learning to spin fiber. At least there will be sheep though. Some rabbits. Some working dogs. Not a horrible way to spend a Saturday. It's better than having a wife who wants me to watch her try on clothes at the mall. So the result is that it will be a short week this week to prepare. Packing and errands and things that need to happen to get a dog, 2 kids, and 2 parents inside a Subaru for a 7 hour car trip to Minnesota. I actually love Twin Cities and it will be nice to visit without illness or a marathon hanging over our heads. Well, really my head. Don't get me wrong, there are some questions. Like where our toddler will s...

With my son, cloth diapering was also a statement in addition to being the right thing. We put a lot of time and effort and research into whether the diaper service would work for us, what covers to use, etc.. In the end, pardon the pun, it turned out great. We loved it and have had every intention of going back to cloth now that the sunny, smelly summer months are over. Then Leda happened. Not that it was her fault. She's just given us other priorities and worries. My son has his "diapering station" in his room where we've got a changing pad setup on the ottoman with wipes and lotions on the window ledge. For a whole variety of reasons, Leda has taken up semi-permanent residence in the living room. For middle of the night changes that rarely happen anymore. For space. She occupies the long chaise with her padded nest and lap pad at the end. When she was first born, it was just easier than worrying about waking up Cole. On the other hand, cosleeping wasn't som...