Flip the Calendar

2012 has been quite a ride, though I am very ready for it to end and the journey of lucky 2013 to begin. This has been a notable year around the Dude’s House for many reasons:

·         The blog completed its’ first full calendar year: Now that I’m just about 1 ½ years into this blogging fun, I’m finally starting to get the hang of it. I went to my first blogging conference where I saw old friends and made some new ones. I learned things that helped me improve as a blogger (or at least I think so).  I went from posting once every 7 to 10 days to 3 or 4 times a week. The last few months have put a hitch in all that, but I’m planning on ramping back up in the new year. Unless I win the lottery. Actually, I’d probably blog more if I won the lottery thanks to all the free time I’d suddenly have. So if you want to see more of me next year, cut me in on your next Powerball win.

·         The Littler Dude was born: In late September we were joined by another happy smiley little guy. It’s been a major adjustment for all of us, but now 3 months later, we are finally getting into a good rhythm. (Or as much as is possible while running on 4-5 hours sleep per night.) Let’s hope his schedule evens out when he moves into a crib early next year. Otherwise I may ask to come crash on your couch.

Me & the Littler Dude, 5 minutes old

·         The Little Dude started preschool: We didn’t know what to expect with a major transition not even 3 weeks before his brother was born, but our now-3-year-old handled everything like a champ. Not that I ever doubted him, with his debonair good looks and winning laugh. It hasn’t been entirely smooth, though.

·          I was published on the Huffington Post! No autographs, please. Seriously though, it was quite an honor and I’ve been on there a few times. Very cool. Still haven’t met Arianna yet.

·         I went camping. If you know me in real life, you understand how preposterous that sounds. It wasn’t bad, though I might have felt differently if our HD TV hadn’t been working.

·         I lost the only grandparent I ever really knew. Hard stuff. I know people often say “death is a part of life”, but I’ve learned the hard way that it’s the really crappy part.  

·         I created and celebrated the inaugural Dudes’ Day. It was epic. Looking forward to many more to come. IHOP, watch out.

·         I wrote my most personal post early in the year. As I mentioned, death sucks. But sometimes good things come out of it, like this blog.

It’s been an eventful year with life and death. Good music and birthday parties. And pancakes. Lots of pancakes. And I appreciate you joining me for the ride. If there is anything you want to see more of next year (or less), please let me know. I love hearing from you all. You are what makes this page keep running. Well, you and my two boys and wife. And laptop. Let’s just say it’s a joint effort, but I’m glad you’re here. See you in 2013!

Your Pal, 

The Dude

The Little Dude's Birthday (at IHOP, naturally)

New Years Eve 2012:
Little Dude (3 years) & Littler Dude (3 months)

Little Dude Turns Three

When I started this blog, my life couldn’t have been much more different than it is today. In a mere 16 months I have found a new career, I have a new baby and my pants are much more snug than they were then.  But one thing that remains is the Little Dude who inspired it all.  And today he turned 3 years old.

day 1

He has certainly changed since I started writing. In fact, my first post was written while he was taking a nap. Unfortunately napping has gone the way of floppy disks and bell bottoms in our household. That’s one change I’d like to have back, actually.

When I started blogging, my Little Dude was new to walking. 

His vocabulary was extremely limited.

He was shy in many situations.

Now he has turned into a very funny, smart and handsome little guy who is the star of his preschool class.  

He loves to identify every car by manufacturer when we are driving or in a parking lot.  

He has unbelievable knowledge of exotic animals that I’dnever even heard of until he introduced me to them.

And he’s a proud big brother.

Many people say he looks like me. Frankly, I don’t see it. He has my hair, finicky palate and inherent stubbornness. Thankfully he also shares Mrs. Dude’s gentle nature and good heart.

We've shared countless one-on-one Dudes' Dinners at his favorite restaurant. 

It’s cliché to say that the time went so fast, but it truly has.He helped me get through the loss of my mother and it’s amazing now to see reminders of her in him even though he was very young when she passed.

It’s an honor to call him my son and I look forward to watching him grow.

And maybe someday tasting a piece of pizza. 

The Dude and Little Dude, October 2012

Your birthday good wishes are appreciated in the comment section below :)

And the Winner is...

If you’ve kept up with my $50 IHOP gift certificate contest, you know that the response was tremendous. Do people still call them gift certificates anymore? I mean, I know no one really uses those long paper certificates like the old days, but I still think of them that way. Even though they are usually just very colorful credit cards these days.

Speaking of gift certificates, I was at the dentist recently and they had a sign on the front counter advertising that they sell gift certificates. For dental work. If anyone actually took them up on their offer and bought one to give someone else, that might be one of the worst “gifts” ever given.

Apparently there are a lot of people who want free pancakes. And I’m thankful for each and every one of you who took the time to enter. Though I know you only did it for the potentially free Rooty Tooty Fresh N’ Fruity I might bestow upon you and your loved ones.  Hopefully you’ll stick around my blog and become a regular. Speaking of being regular, you should definitely try IHOP’s brand new Whole Wheat pancakes.

So while I’d planned on dragging this out for a while, I think I’ve gone far enough. Thanks to some random generator I found online, the winner of the $50 IHOP gift certificate (OK, card) is Zannah Brown. Despite the fact that she didn’t leave a handy email address on my site.

Zannah, the clock is ticking. Drop me an email to claim your prize.  

If you snooze, you lose and another winner will be picked. So hurry up, Zannah!

Thanks to the kind IHOP crew for letting me sample their new items and for sponsoring this contest.

They gave me free pancakes, but I also like cash, for future reference. 

All opinions expressed during this giveaway were mine. 

Even if they were written while in a maple syrup induced  haze. 

Whole Wheat, Sweet!

Old habits die hard. Or as we say around my house, picky eaters are those residents currently under the age of 3.  You know by now, the Little Dude takes pickiness to a new level. His eating habits have gotten better in some ways, like just yesterday he ate a grape tomato at our local farmers’ market, but in many other ways there is no progress either forward or backward.  He still won’t touch a piece of pizza, which is both frustrating and ironic since my blood type is practically Marinara.

The one genre of food that he will eat pretty much any time (beside candy) is breakfast. I’ve told you several times about his affinity for IHOP, or as I sometimes refer to it, TORWMKWESFTM (The Only Restaurant Where My Kid Will Eat Something From The Menu). Not quite as catchy of an acronym, so we’ll refer to it as IHOP here.

The kind bubble-lettered people at IHOP asked me if I wanted to check out some new items on their menu, which presented an interesting conundrum. I know that the Little Dude likes IHOP’s Baby Cakes (aka silver dollar pancakes), but as a creature of habit would he try something new there? I took their offer as a challenge, and also as the opportunity for a free meal.

Since I’m a high roller, I invited the pregnant Mrs. Dude to join us at IHOP for our big night out. With our IHOP outings usually reserved for Dudes’ Days, this was a rare treat for her. Or at least that’s how I pitched it so that she’d attend.

We went for Breakfast for Dinner on a recent weeknight and immediately noticed the giant glossy pictures of the new Red Velvet, Sweet Strawberry & Whole Wheat Pancakes all over the restaurant.  As Mrs. Dude has a chocolate allergy, we nixed Red Velvet and ordered the other two new flavors. And just to be safe we ordered the Little Dude some of his beloved Baby Cakes. Oh, and some of the amazing looking Cinn-a-Stack pancakes, too, to balance out the looming healthiness of the Whole Wheat.

When everything arrived, our table looked like Dr. Atkins’ worst nightmare. Luckily I’m a professional carbaholic, so I could handle it. I decided to see if the Little Dude would eat the Whole Wheat pancakes. I cut a few bites and poured the brown maple syrup he likes on top. When he bit in, he knew something was a little different, but he went with it anyway. For about 4 bites. Then he decided he’d been adventurous enough for one night and I agreed so he went back to the Baby Cakes.  He tried them and didn’t spit out the first bite. That’s a win in my book.

 

 The advertised Whole Wheat pancakes (above) looked pretty close to the picture of the real product (below). 

Mrs. Dude and I shared the Whole Wheat, Sweet Strawberry and Cinn-A-Stack pancakes for a more objective take. The Whole Wheat was a bit grainier than IHOP’s standard pancakes, but that’s what whole wheat normally is. They weren’t bad and if you are going to eat healthier, there are definitely a lot worse options. They place banana slices on top of these pancakes which add a little moistness and also make them slightly resemble a crop circle.

When we’d ordered, I asked the waitress what the difference was between the new Sweet Strawberry pancakes and the regular Strawberry pancakes was. She told me “nothing”. That wasn’t quite accurate, however, as the new ones have a cream cheese glaze drizzled across the top. Beyond that, they seemed very similar to this IHOP regular. These new ones were good, but as someone who was getting a root canal two days later, I wish they’d been served with a side of fluoride. IHOP’s marketing team was not kidding when they named them “Sweet” Strawberry.

The real Sweet Strawberry pancakes (below) look like a volcanic eruption of the official picture (above).

So would I order these new items again? Surprisingly, of the two new styles I’d actually order the Whole Wheat again. I expected them to sit in my stomach like a ton of bricks, as whole wheat/grainy food often does, but that wasn’t the case here. Were they as light and fluffy as the regular IHOP pancakes? No, but that’s why I’d order a side of Cinn-a-Stack again to go along with them. They made an interesting, and ironic, complement to each other. And for my picky Little Dude, I see more Baby Cakes in his future.

"I take my pancakes very seriously"

Yes, we went to town.

The super-kind IHOP people wants one of you to come check out their new products, too. Actually they want all of you to come try them, but they are generously offering a $50 IHOP gift certificate to one lucky reader. To qualify for this prize you must:

1)      Leave a comment below stating your interest in participating in the contest along with your favorite IHOP item.

2)      LIKE me on Facebook for another chance to win & mention that you want to win the IHOP GC

3)      Follow me on Twitter for another chance to win & Tweet “@DudeoftheHouse rocks @IHOP!”

4)      Follow me on Pinterest and share my pics from or this story there.

You can earn up to four entries per person. 

Winner will be randomly selected on Friday August 17, 2012 at 3:00pm PST.  Winner will be notified via a blog post on Dude of the House and will have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. 

The opinions expressed in this post are entirely mine. And partially my wife's. 
IHOP gave me gift cards to try their new items in exchange for writing this post. 

You Know You're a SAHD if...

For the past 2 ½ years I’ve been lucky to be a part-time Stay-At-Home-Dad (SAHD). On a daily basis it’s afforded me the pleasure of interacting both with those who whine and cry all day, as well as toddlers. I’ve spent a surprising amount of time doing things that I never could have imagined just a few years ago. Like watching the same 3 Pixar movies over and over. And over and over. And that’s just in one day. 

The reality is that being a SAHD is a gift. I get to spend quality time with my Little Dude and not worry about the stains on my shirts while out in public, which strangers (usually incorrectly) assume were caused by him. During a recent viewing of Cars, I started thinking about some of the unique characteristics of SAHDs and came up with this short list. 

“You Know You’re a SAHD if...”  

1)     You own what you refer to as your "good" sweatpants.

2)     You know about all of the "kids eat free" deals at nearby restaurants and exchange birthday cards with the manager at your local IHOP.

3)     Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and that place is MyGym.

4)     You like taking your kids to story time at the library so you can get caught up on 5 games of Words With Friends while they listen to a librarian read 5 books about talking elephants.

5)     Your most recent Facebook status update was "jklljhhhhlppnnn".

6)     You used to know the names and statistics of all your favorite athletes. Now you know the names and numbers of Thomas the Train and his friends.

7)     Your Breaking Bad episodes have accidentally been deleted from your TiVo to make room for additional episodes of Super Why.   

8)     You are more than a little freaked out by your kid’s seemingly innocuous toys after repeated viewings of Toy Story.

9)     The backseat of your car contains more Cheerios than the General Mills factory.

10)  You think Sesame Street jumped the shark when Mr. Noodle's brother Mr. Noodle joined the cast. 

11)  You can justify why dunking your head in the sink and some strategically placed baby powder are just as good as a real shower.

12)  You have plenty of time to finish writing a list like this. At 1:30am.

What unique traits do you associate with SAHDs and SAHMs?

Two-Line Tuesday: I-H-O-P

Hey, I know those letters.

I want to go to there.

How would you caption this photo?

The Dude Flies Solo

It began with a kiss as she walked out the door. That wonderful moment was just the beginning of my great unknown.  As Mrs. Dude departed on Friday afternoon for a friend’s overnight bachelorette party in wine country, I was hoping that I was not headed for 24 hours in whine country. 

Even though the Little Dude is 2+ years old and I have spent a considerable amount of time with him by myself, this was something new.  I had never had him for 24 hours solo before. And likewise, he had never had 24 hours with just me. Or as he would likely view it, without his mother. 

Though certainly not frequently, I have spent an occasional few days away from home over the last 2+ years.  My wife is a pro and can handle the Little Dude in any situation.  She’s flown cross-country with him. She’s driven him up and down the state of California. She’s even waited in line at the DMV with him, and that’s not easy. 

She put him down for his nap that day, as she usually does.  When he woke up she wasn’t there, but that’s not unusual since I usually have him post-nap through bedtime most nights during the week while Mrs. Dude is working.

At first I wanted to come up with a plan. Then I realized that planning for toddlers rarely works.  So I came up with a few ideas and knew I’d have to be flexible. I’ve learned from watching my wife operate so smoothly on the fly that flexibility is the key. She easily handles unexpected detours, no matter the situation.  One thing I wanted to avoid was discussing “Mama” with him. Her absence was not a secret, as she’d told him that she was going away, but didn’t need to be emphasized either.

That night, I figured I’d butter him up to get on his good side. Literally. I made his favorite dinner of Kraft Mac and Cheese.  When it’s fresh, he can eat enough to make Kobayashi look like a Weight Watcher.  His eyes smiled eagerly as I brought out the giant bowl of “Freshie Roni”.  We ate it side-by-side and even though he rejected the broccoli I served, he managed to find room for the cookies I gave him for dessert.   

We got through the rest of the usual evening routine with no problem. Of course it was really the next day I was worried about, when he woke up and Mama wasn’t there for the first time.  Was it too late to hire an understudy?

He woke up at 7:00am on Saturday and I went to grab him from his crib. T-minus 12 hours or so until the most anticipated return since the Jedi. We played in his room for a few minutes and when I went to change his diaper, he said “See Mama Again!” Sigh.  My luck ended faster than that ironically-named TV show Luck that was just canceled after the horses kept dying.  I reminded him that Mama was out with her friends and would be back soon. Soon being a relative term.  

Suddenly, a great idea hit me like a stomachache after eating at McDonalds.  Like much in life, whether the product is good or not, it’s the branding and marketing that make things successful. I told him that that day was just going to be me and him hanging out and dubbed it “Dudes’ Day”. The initial response was very positive, since he repeated “Dudes’ Day” 50 times after that.  Word of mouth was developing…but would it sustain?

We took the dog for a walk, made breakfast and then the pressure to come up with a new plan was on. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that Seattleites laugh at, but Angelenos balk at. Since I’m originally from Ohio, I knew we had to press on.

We bundled up and headed to our weekly local Farmers’ Market.  I knew he would enjoy the bright colors and people-watching, or at least all the free fruit samples.  After making a loop, and the piecemeal equivalent of a giant fruit salad, we headed down the street to a local “Spring Festival”, aka Easter Bunny fest. We don’t celebrate Easter, but we had a brief brush with fame after meeting the infamous Bunny:

Yes, that is really us pictured in our local newspaper with the aforementioned Bunny 

We grabbed lunch at a nearby cafe, and destroyed our table like the rockstars we are.  We went home and he crashed after a long morning of cruising the streets of our fair city. I expected the Mrs. to be home when he woke up, so I figured I’d made it through!  Until she told me she was going to stay with her friends for dinner.  Now what?

I figured our Dudes’ Day finale should be what every good-time person does on a Saturday night, so we went to IHOP.  Since I’d recently discovered his fondness for their pancakes, I knew it would be a hit. And as we finished our dinner, we received a surprise at the restaurant. Mrs. Dude got dropped off at IHOP by her friend on their way back into town and we all rode home together. A successful solo mission / Inaugural Dudes’ Day was now history. 

I'm once again linking up with the great Yeah Write community.
Come check out some great writers and vote for your favorites on Thursday. 

We Hop To IHOP

He had a cold. I had an idea. After several days with a runny nose I decided to venture out with the Little Dude for a dinner of warm comfort food. I know it usually makes me feel better when I’m sick, but would it do the same for him?

Knowing what a picky eater he is, my options were limited. I’d heard that the local IHOP has a “kids eat free” deal if an adult eats. I hedged my bets that he’d eat, popped some precautionary Tums and headed to a place which apparently takes Dr. Seuss a bit too literally for my taste.

The sun was setting as we drove. I’d never been to this location before and wasn’t sure exactly where it was. Fortunately the neon-blue sign was so bright that it looked like a post-apocalyptic Smurf village, so I easily found my way as I pulled off the freeway. We grabbed a booth near the front and I tried to guess which method of distraction I would need to utilize first. Was it the crayons on the table? The books I brought? Telling him the menu was a picture book and he should try to figure out the story? (Spoiler Alert: when you get all the way to the end, someone joins Weight Watchers.)  

Since I hadn’t been to an IHOP in a very long time I figured I should look at the menu. Thanks to the new regulations that forces restaurants to list the caloric content of everything they serve, I figured I’d skip the tempting looking “Chicken and Waffles”.  And only partially because I don’t want to get a prescription for Lipitor this week.

I ordered the Little Dude some silver dollar pancakes and myself a salad, figuring it’d be hard for them to mess that up or figure out a way to deep-fry it. (It turns out I was wrong, but I’ll get to that.) I’m not generally a big entrée- salad orderer.  But after seeing that their chicken sandwiches contained almost as many calories as Shaquille O’Neal eats in a month, I could feel my arteries harden slightly just from perusing the menu  & went with the leafy stuff.

After just a few minutes, his plate of 5 mini-pancakes was delivered and the server told me my salad would be right up. The Little Dude’s eyes widened like Tim Tebow’s at a strip club as he looked excitedly at what lay in front of him. Though he has never so much as tasted a chicken nugget, French fry or bite of pizza he LOVES breakfast food. So much so that Mrs. Dude has become a pancake and waffle-making master. If there is ever an Iron Chef: Flapjack Edition, I’m going to sign her up.  

As he watched me slice his pancakes with eager eyes,  the Little Dude spotted something he’d never seen before across the table. In addition to the usual “brown” (maple) syrup, there was also “red” (strawberry), “blue” (blueberry) and “black” (boysenberry) varieties.  He quickly became fixated on the red one and begged me to use it, so I poured a little bit on a small piece for him as a sample. As the red lava hit his tongue, it was immediately rejected like a Kardashian by Harvard.  I doused the rest of his pancakes with his beloved brown syrup and watched him go to town. 

A few minutes later, I asked the server again where my salad was.  The restaurant was three-quarters empty and we were sitting parallel to the kitchen, which I could tell wasn’t busy as I watched the bored chefs juggling eggs.  I started to wonder if they had to dispatch someone to the nearest grocery store because they don’t usually stock vegetables at IHOP due to their infrequent use.  As the Little Dude polished off the last of his fluffy circles of Dr. Atkins’ mortal enemy, I finally received my bowl of greens, chicken and cheese.  A mere 25 minutes after ordering. It tasted exactly as you’d expect a Chicken Caesar Salad to taste at IHOP.  But as I wolfed it down, I saw the glazed look of a satiated toddler sitting across from me and knew that he had indeed been comforted. Mission accomplished.

Where do you go, or what do you eat, when you want comfort food?