I just had an IM “conversation” with a colleague of mine who also has a toddler, trying to juggle it all.

I will paste the full back-and-forth after the click, but the crux of it is how often we - as parents - actually get to take a real vacation (and I don’t mean a long weekend in some motel with the kids, or Disneyland - in my mind, those don’t really count).

The above pic is where I’d like to be right now with a Pina Colada - and it got me to thinking about this summer and vacations… Read the rest of this entry »

Did you ever see the movie Se7en? Dark, evil, and the bad guy wins. But it’s all about the seven deadly sins, and my personal favorite (yes, don’t you have a favorite sin?) is: Envy.

Flash forward from 1995 to 2008 - I am now happily married and the father of a soon-to-be four-year-old. My envies have obviously changed. Back then I was envious of the guys who could hit on the hot girls successfully and make it look easy. Now, I’m envious of the guys whose wives “baby” them. Don’t believe such a thing could be true?

Check this out (click to read).

In summary, there seem to be wives out there who think they are being more “womanly” or “wifely” by pampering their husbands to the point of basically mommy-ing them: bathing, clothing, feeding, and more! Read the rest of this entry »

A recent meeting ended at work and a colleague and I remained in the room, furiously typing emails. We finished, looked up, and realized we hadn’t done our catch-up chat in awhile.

We ended up talking family stuff (he has four kids - FOUR! - which I cannot even comprehend) and how we do the fatherly juggle.

“I don’t know how you do it with four. Your wife has a flexible schedule, right?” I inquired, digging for the magic potion to his life.

“Yes, but she teaches piano and has a weird schedule, so I am frequently the carpooler.” He replied, graciously, clearly a very involved father.

He continued: “Probably the only reason I still work here is because I can work from home a few days a week.”

Shocked? Read the rest of this entry »

Hey, did you know that Redbook can tell you how to keep your “man” in love with you for all of eternity?

It’s true. Just go and read this. Or, if you’re too lazy to click, I’ll give you the summary (with commentary, of course).

#1: Play Poker: I guess many men actually play poker regularly and they think it important, or would find it appealing, if their wives could play, too? Read the rest of this entry »

“It’s possible that these video montages are the only time in a guy’s life that he’ll cry in front of another guy.”

So I have a penchant for blog polls: How many of you have witnessed a man crying? Show of hands, please.

I’m going to guess the answer is a small number.

One more question for ya: Any idea to what the above quote is referring?

That’s right, the horrible corny song-cum-video-clips that CBS strings together at the end of the NCAA Men’s college basketball tournament, and yes, we all sit around after the game is over and wait for it, because, yes, it IS touching. Read the rest of this entry »

And here I was thinking I was all “helpful” and all that.

Silly me.

Okay, show of hands: how many of you out there know that 2 cups of *cooked* pasta differs from the volume created by 2 cups of *dry* pasta? All of you?

Well, then say hello to your favorite blogging DOLT. For any of my readers who thought I was actually “helpful” - you can stop nagging your hubbies to do more. I may have tooted my own horn a little too much. Here’s what transpired earlier this week… Read the rest of this entry »

As I ruminated on the comments posted on my last post, I began to wonder how most marriages keep their wheels spinning gleefully, particularly on the domestic front.

Starting with the broad assumption that us men are relatively useless and lazy, don’t listen well, and can’t seem to get it right on the homefront, is it now accepted that we merely serve as the support staff to our commander-in-chief wives because they really run the house? Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, I’m a tad tardy in getting to comment on this great piece by Judith Warner (warning: link has been down recently) a few weeks ago, but at least I finally got around to this post, which will make your jaw drop. Yes, lofty expectations I know.

Are you ready?

If you didn’t follow that link to read Warner’s piece of naivete, I’ll give you the Cliff’s Notes: We men really are simpletons. Much to Warner’s surprise and dismay, she discovered this truth, but I am here to tell you that you should stop holding your breath while your wait for your male companion - if you have one - to become the emotionally intelligent and sensitive being that you long for. It ain’t happenin’. Read the rest of this entry »

My day job involves all kinds of fun customer interactions, including the occassional flare-up where I get slapped (usually virtually - by email or phone) because of late delivery or some other misstep along the way. I wouldn’t say I love my job, but for the most part it works out okay and most of my colleagues are very nice people - and I say “most” for a reason.

So of course we had a situation yesterday where the customer flipped out and called one of our senior guys who later came to talk to me, after the fire had been extinguished. He came to my desk and said, of our customer contact: “She’s a chick, so she’ll flip out once in awhile, and then she calms down.” And then he left. Read the rest of this entry »

NPR ran a piece last week about young men who refuse to grow up. My first thought was, that’s ME! Well, not really. But my second thought was, that’s the movie “Swingers.” (Which I loved, of course; and if you’re a guy and you didn’t like the movie, then you’re lying.)

I wrote previously about how it’s weird to be a relatively young father these days. My best friend is a perpetual bachelor and entertains me with his stories of gallivanting through Europe with a new woman in each country. And while I might have a tinge of envy for his life of liberty, he, too, has an immense desire to “settle down” and actually envies the fact that I have found the love of my life and we have a wonderful daughter and a little house in the ‘burbs…so when do we draw the line? Read the rest of this entry »