Land of 1000 Blocks

With the recent news that a Legoland will be constructed in Kansas City's Crown Center, I've been stuck in a state of toy nostalgia, reminiscing on the countless hours of entertainment that Legos and Duplos (which, contrary to popular belief, are not a Lego competitor, but a Lego product line) provided me as a child. Ava has just started playing with Duplos when we visit my parents house. Coincidentally, the big blue bucket of blocks that they...

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Lost In Translation

I've never been on a true 'international' vacation. Sure, my Senior year of high school, I spent spring break on a drunken boat ride through the Caribbean. And my then girlfriend (now wife) and I took a trip to Mexico a few years back, but 'cerveza' was the most extensive Spanish required during our stay. Despite my lack of experience when it comes to traveling abroad, I've got to believe that tackling a foreign language barrier has to be equivalent...

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The Mother's Day Paradox

I know, you are sitting there thinking "Come on Pat, Mother's Day isn't until Sunday!" Yes, I know. But, like so many of you out there, I don't anticipate having a single free minute this weekend, let alone time to sit and commiserate over a well-thought Mother's Day blog post. And for those of you sitting there thinking "You can write it ahead of time and schedule the post to go live on Sunday!" well you are just a smart ass and can shut that mouth...

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Sidewalk Chalk - How Does It Work?

It shocks my eyelids that Insane Clown Posse didn't include sidewalk chalk in their list of magical mysteries in the smash hit song 'Miracles'. Granted, yesterday was the first time I'd touched a piece of sidewalk chalk in what I'm guessing is at least a dozen years. But something weird happened when I came home to find my wife and daughter drawing on the sidewalk in front of our home. As soon as that chalk tickled my hand, it's like I had a reverse-Tom...

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I'm Baaack!

It’s ironic that my last post on this blog was just before Ava was born, and now I’m returning to write again at a point in fatherhood where I feel like I’m finally starting to figure it out. Now, I can hear the collective “HA!” ringing out from anybody reading this right now, and yes, I understand that I will NEVER completely figure out being a parent. But I do feel like I’m finally at a certain comfort level. While I spent so many of those first months scared shitless, I now feel much more at ease and get to watch my beautiful girl develop a personality and learn rather than worry constantly about the minutia of newborn necessities.As tempted...

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