Kids in the Apple store

Love them, hate them, ignore them - you can say whatever you want about Apple stores but there is one thing they do better than most other stores (across the board) is provide some entertainment for kids while the grown ups are shopping. Case in point:

Every Apple store has a dedicated table for young children. The table is at the perfect height with small chairs or cushions to suit. On the table there are usually iPads with age-appropriate apps. Nice thought and makes a big difference for parents shopping with children in tow.

-Stef

The Recession Renaissance Man

Living in an area with a high unemployment rate can provide a lot of insight into what it takes to sustain a successful business. This man, to be referred to as the Recession Renaissance Man, is the epitome of making it in hard times. His businesses comprise a fairly extensive list of industries that are thriving right now. By day he's a mechanic who also runs a used car lot, a parts store, and a towing service. A lot of people in the area have old cars with high miles, so he does quite a bit of towing and fixing. Then, when a vehicle finally can't be fixed, he might make a quick sale. He offers financing for the cars he sells, so if someone doesn't make their car payment, he uses one of his tow trucks to repossess the vehicle. Being a repo man can be dangerous, so our renaissance man would do well to visit BusinessInsurance.org.

Explaining KONY 2012 to children

Amazing snippet of Jason Russell's short film "KONY 2012" about the Invisible Children project where Jason explains to his son Gavin what Kony does. Incredible ...

A fantastic example of explaining difficult things to our children and watching their (usually natural) reactions to it. Hugs thanks to Jason for sharing this scene in his film. Make sure to watch the full story about KONY 2012.

-Stef

ps.: DIYFather does not own any of the material shown here and fully acknowledges the copyrights of the Invisible Children project.

The Luckiest Dad in the World

“Daddy, I want to tell you something”, my oldest daughter whispered as I finished my nightly ritual of ‘Rockaby Baby’ with her.

“Ok, sweetheart. What is it?” I said.

“I just wanted to tell you that you’re luckiest dad in the whole wide world!” she said.

I don’t think she fully understood what she was saying, but I did - and she was right.

I have a feeling that what she meant to say was that she’s grateful that I’m her father. But the truth is, she said it exactly right!

I am a father of 3 beautiful little girls and I love them all so much. It is so amazing to wake up each day and enjoy them as much as I do. I have a lot of things that I love like - hunting, football season, hanging out with friends, great food, etc - but next to my faith and my wife, nothing comes close to how I feel about my kids.

Drama class at home - movie transcripts

Here's a handy site for finding transcripts of your kids' favourite movies. If you want to study the script with your kids or put on a little play at home check out www.scifiscripts.com.

Among others, the sites has the complete scripts for: Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Anastasia, Antz, Aristocats, Finding Nemo, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Iron Giant, The Jungle Book, The Last Unicorn, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins, Never Ending Story, Nightmare Before Christmas, Pokemon, Shrek, Sleeping Beauty and Toy Story.

Check it out and turn the living room into a stage!

Enjoy

-Stefan

Rodney's home birth story

Everyone has "the" list ... you know the one, babies coming and magically this list appears "things to do". No matter how hard you work and toil over this list it just never seems to get smaller ...

So 9 months after starting on this list, (ok I had a few days out fishing) it was Saturday morning and all I had left was to plant 5 trees and fix the house.

I had been woken at 2am to be told that my wife had been having very mild contractions since 7pm the night before, but don't panic as this was the third time and baby was still a long way off. The midwives were due at 10am for a checkup.

10am rolls around the midwives arrived and we timed the contractions at about 30sec long and around 10 mins apart. Armed with the information that when they last 45sec and 5 min apart that we should head to the hospital. Yes this was originally supposed to be hospital birth, but the fact that this letter is in this magazine you already know the outcome…

Back to the story; 10.30am and my wife and I are in the back garden with the final job on the list. She is only there to supervise, while I am digging planting and timing the contractions. Just after 1pm the first contraction that went aver 45 sec came. Quickly finishing the last plant and fixing the hose, my job was done and the list complete.

The Daddy Diaries - Father's Day Suprise

I recently received the greatest gift a man can ever hope to be given. Of course, like most great gifts, it was something that I truly wanted, yet I was complete surprised when it happened.

This past Father’s Day I laid in bed trying to muster the strength to get ready for church service when my two year-old Labrador Retriever burst into the room armed with a wagging tail and a wet tongue. My wife strolled in just steps behind and took a seat on the bed as I fought off my excited assailant.

4 year-old caught planking

Quite a surprise when I walked into our living room and caught our 4-year-old planking! Pre-schoolers are the new teens ...

-Stef

It gets better

Very cool project to inspire children and help kids who are being bullied or feel suicidal - the Trevor Project and "it gets better" check it out at itgetsbetter.org. Check it out:

Share with your kids and other parents!

Enjoy,

Stef

Baby Gone

Just found out about an amazing book called "Baby Gone" ... the book is tackling a really difficult topic that unfortunately many parents are dealing with - miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss. Rather than offer any advice the book simply tells the stories of parents who have experienced losing a baby or infant. Tragically one in 3 to one in 4 parents will be faced with miscarriage or losing their baby - so this book is highly relevant to many parents.

For more information visit babygone.com.

-Stefan