Toddler and Monkey Stew

When Arica and I first met I enjoyed cooking a little bit, but I had no real idea what I was doing. I certainly had no formal training or even informal training for that matter.  While we were dating she somehow, against my will, got me to watch Emeril on the Food Network.

After that a strange thing happened. I became addicted. I wanted to watch Emeril all the time. I wanted to watch other cooking shows as well.  It seemed that my love of TV and my love of eating had come together to form a perfect marriage.  I learned to cook a little bit. Some of the rules and techniques began to stick in my head. I had never liked using recipes so these rules and techniques helped my repertoire in the kitchen grow exponentially.

At home I share the cooking duties with my very capable wife. Outside of the home I have been slower to showcase my skills. After a few trial runs I have slowly become the dressing maker at Christmas and Thanksgiving with Arica's family. I have also been allowed to bring some other things to the table occasionally.

With all of this I still haven't launched my cooking know how and skills onto the Internet even though it seems to be the perfect place to share. Cooking websites and blogs are everywhere.  My friend PJ Mullen often shares cooking tips, recipes, and even video on his regular blog. He has a separate cooking blog as well.

Today he has inspired me to post this, my first cooking video.

In case you prefer a written recipe I offer the following steps.

1. Put kid in pot.
2. Remove the kid and add monkey. Place kid on top of monkey.
3. Remove kid and monkey and hope they don't run away.

Dad's In the Limelight Series

In one of life's strange coincidences I am featured on another site today as well. I signed up for both opportunities around the same time, and as it turned out both posts appeared within a couple days. If you haven't been by yet click here to see my post at New Parent.

Today I am being featured in a series at Dad of Divas called Dad's in the Limelight. I really don't think I am in the limelight, but Chris was nice enough to include me in his series anyway. Go see the post featuring me HERE, and be sure to check out the rest of Chris' site while you are there.

I promise that I will still be posting here in the future.  I am not becoming a blogging nomad. Nor am I starting a career as a writing mercenary.

Thanks for checking out my guest posting opportunities. See you back here real soon.

Featured Post at New Parent

In an effort to spread my own special  brand of cheer across the Internet I wrote an article for New Parent online magazine. My article is currently being featured on the site. Click HERE and follow Braden over to read my post. Don't worry. He knows the way.

Guaranteed System for Parenting Success

Everyone is familiar with get rich quick schemes. Some screaming overly excited  salesman on TV desperately tries to get you to buy into his idea. You can make millions right from your own home in only a few minutes a day. You never even have to leave the couch.

There are email versions as well. You may be contacted by Royalty from an African country. They have just inherited a large sum of money and they need to move it to the US. If you give them your bank account information then you will receive a percentage for your troubles.

I am sure all of you have seen or heard many types of tricks and schemes. Surely you all filed them under the "too good to be true" category and went on about your business.

There are many other too good to be true schemes out there as well.  Here are a few.

• You can eliminate up to $100,000 of debt in one month with my proven system.
• Stop smoking in one week guaranteed with my free system.
• Lose 100 pounds in a week without drugs or expensive surgery.
• Subscribe to my proven system and I will send you guaranteed winning picks for every NFL game.
• Buy my book to learn a system guaranteed to beat any casino in black jack or your money back.

There are so many guaranteed easy ways to succeed in life I can't figure out why I am not a millionaire. Something doesn't add up.

Today I want to share a proven method of my own. It is a one step method. You only have to do one thing for guaranteed success.

My method will teach you how to be the best parent you can possibly be. If you follow my proven method you will be an all-star mom or dad immediately. I can hear you out there asking right now, "How can I do it? What will make me a great parent?"

There is one simple step. LOVE YOUR CHILDREN MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD.

Of course because of our sinful nature we will all fall short some times, but this is the ultimate goal. Strive for this goal and your parenting is certain to be top notch.

Loving your children more than alcohol or the need to "feel good" can help the parent who goes to the bar and misses a Little League game. Loving your children more than your desire for lust can help the dad who is endangering his marriage by chasing women every night. Loving your kids more than your need for control can help a parent with anger and yelling issues. Loving your kids more than your job might save you a few extra moments a day to share with them.

If you simply love your children more than yourself and all your selfish desires you will be a super mom or dad. An added bonus is the fact that once you start living for your children you won't miss all those other things that made you "feel good". Seeing your child smile will be the best high you can reach.

It seems so simple, yet we all know parents that just can't seem to figure this out. I will never understand how so many moms and dads miss the boat entirely when it comes to caring for their kids.

For my loyal readers there is no charge for this system. Feel free to share the secret with any parents that might be struggling. I promise it is not too good to be true. It just feels that way when you do it right.

Leader of a Toddler Gang

It's time for an update on Operation Child Care. Starting her new job is still tough for Arica. There are certain difficulties at work that have made her first week challenging. Who would have ever thought that a huge corporation was mismanaged? It's a real shocker!

Of course being away from Braden is still an arduous task for her as well. I am sure it will continue to be hard for the foreseeable future. It will eventually get easier with time.

Braden seems to be adjusting well. The only real hiccup came Monday night when for some unknown reason he decided to throw one of his all night parties. I ended up watching The Simpsons with him at 3 am. At that moment in my sleep deprived mind The Simpsons counted as a cartoon for children.

The next morning Braden was very upset when Arica dropped him off at school. We were worried that he would be getting his daily report marked as "fussy" for that day.

We were wrong.

According to the teachers he was a perfect child all day. They said that he is super good. The teachers also said most kids that have never been to child care cry all day for about a week. Braden, however, does not cry at all. He just plays all day. It would appear that our son is quite the social animal.

I am proud of him for being a good boy. It makes me happy to know that he can adjust quickly, and that he likes playing with other kids.

I am not surprised though. I always expected him to excel. I imagine him as leader of a little toddler gang. He is the like the godfather of his class. I am certain he is a benevolent ruler rather than a war time chief. After all he is willing to share food, drink, and pacifiers with me and Arica at any time.

So as we reach hump day on week one I say hail to the new King of Toddler Care.