First, apologies for being slow with the ODT, but I had to wade through my 1-week backlog [198 posts (!!)] from the new blogajillionaires at BloggingBaby.com. Seriously, people, aren't you due for some slacking off, or hasn't that fat AOL check cleared yet? Anyway, to the blogs:
The Bean's Dad reports that his Dads Playgroup was being studied [again. they're famous, apparently] by a phd/marriage counselor working on a book. Topics covered in this post: cluelessness, the Gen-X/Boomer SAHD Gap, beer drinking, and Enrique Iglesias.
At Because I'm Your Father, Alan takes his eyes off the NFL just long enough to do "a daddytypes impression," a list of gear and toys that have proved popular and/or effective with BIYM and BIYK. The Pack N' Play's a versatile hit; Teletubbies are crack for babies, but the icing on the cake, so to speak: Boudreaux's Butt Cream. [We use California Baby, but I can attest to the endless amusement of hearing your child say "butt cream." At least until she blurts it out in the pre-school interview.]
Buck's little buck Liam got a visit from the Umbilical Cord Fairy, who put the thing "under a few dictionaries," awaiting baby bookbinding, not gold-plating and shadowboxing.
I was ready to hate on the largely content-free, weight loss-obsessed celebrity mom advice on iVillage UK, but Jay does it just fine on BloggingBaby. [Actually, the problem is more celebrity "journalists," who are the ones asking about "the body battle" in the first place. Celebrities are our most important parenting resource; it's just a question of how best to use them.]
Meanwhile, Sarah [true, not technically a dad] published an open letter calling for Nick Jr and their licensees to enable her to dress her son in girl's clothes. The girl in question: Dora The Explorer. Seems gender-based marketing pigeonholing is alive and well in the conference rooms at Viacom.
Jay's Top Ten Low-Tech Toys list is up to #7: Everyday Household Objects. [My predictions for 8-10: everything in the world, everything in the galaxy, and everything in the universe, respectively.] It's all good, but this is what happens when bloggers are paid by the post: they make you wait and wait and wait.
And this is just Scene One. If Laid-Off Dad were a sitcom, I'd start watching The WB again:
"Daddy: Robert, please do not play with your brother's penis. You wouldn't want someone constantly playing with your penis, would you?
Robert: Of course I would!"
Modern Day Dad and Little Madame review Jack The Cuddly Dog, a "homebrew Baby Einstein," with real pianos and videos of realworld objects. The verdict: a good beat, but you'll probably only dance to it if you're under 12 mos old.
At More Diapers, Eric blogged about his wife leaving him with the HBomb for a few days; having just crawled through a week of that myself, Eric, I can tell you you're so right: it's not a job for the meek.
Sheesh. Patata may mean no worries, but it apparently also means four-days of labor. Congratulations and some well-deserved nights sleep to Mrs. Patata Monkey and the little procrastinator himself, the awesomely named Guido Jack. Officesurfer warning: Patata's NICU photos do include some tatas.
And what were the Patata Monkey family reading before Guido Jack decided to saunter in at a rock-star-like pace, four days after his due date? Why, Guiness Book's World Record Heaviest Births, of course.
RebelDad has a link roundup of everything you need for the upcoming Athome Dad Convention.
John [of Flagrant Disregard] no likee the PBS Sprout-y. And what's more, his kids no likee, either. [For better or worse, our children's television universe is still a parking spot barely big enough for the Big Red Car.]
RebelDad also sticks a daisy in the barrel of the diaper bag industrial complex's rifle. His dad-friendly suggestion? Forget the over-mythologized "perfect diaper bag" and just get a locally made courier bag. He has links, too, so start un-shopping. [mea culpa: Brian emailed me about this, like, a year ago, and I lost and didn't post it. If you bought an over-designed diaper bag in the last year, I feel personally responsible. Not that I want you to sue me or anything, mind you...]
via RebelDad: Eric Snowdeal got a publishing deal, of sorts: Odin's xtreemie blog was excerpted in Parents Magazine. [of course, it's the same issue that hyped The Perfect Daddy Diaper Bags...]
And speaking of Odin, he just celebrated his age-adjusted first birthday. The kid is destined to rule Aasgard forever.
So Blossom has a baby, and Dutch at Sweet Juniper has a bit of a come-to-Jesus moment about celebrity parents. [But Dutch, they're only here to help us lose that pesky baby weight!] Also, he hates on petting zoos.
Dutch has some excellent tips for flying coach with a kid. Good advice until you sell your blog to AOL and stop flying commercial, that is.
Interestingly, I had started low-tech toys as one giant post, but couldn't muster the energy to write all 10 at once. Spreading it across nine days made it much easier. The pay-per-post thing? That was just gravy.
Yes, this is my story. Hey, AOL's watching - I can't take chances.
[I kid because I love. Oh, and your jet is waiting, sir. -ed.]
The Boudreaux's is actually butt paste, which to me is even funnier.