Just Another Dad

Just another dad, trying to raise three little girls

[anotherdad]

My middle daughter Jane is cautious, shy, and very self motivated. On Sunday she ran a 5k for the first time, along with her older sister and I. It was the first time for both of them. I expected them both to sprint and then walk with stitches in their sides. Which is exactly what Madeline did, and I stayed with her the whole time. But little 7 year old Jane found her pace and stuck with it, leaving her sister and I in her dust. She pushed on, all by herself, to finish in 33 minutes, crossing the finish line alone and ahead of many adults. I can't even begin to express the level of dad pride I had in that moment, even though I couldn't even be there to cheer her through the finish.

[coffeeorwhisky]

Today’s project: mix cds, fully curated by the girls, courtesy of an itunes gift card from @rebourne_marni. These kids have pretty good taste in music!

[coffeeorwhisky]

I was catching up with an old friend recently, and he said something along the lines of “it looks like you have a ton of adventures with your girls.” Which is maybe partly true. But not as common as this scene. Normal life. Messy, busy, noisy. And fun. Though maybe not as worthy of documenting on social media. So here is a glimpse into real life, after catching up on work late into the night, with a trashed house and another fun and frantic day ahead of me…

[coffeeorwhisky]

Peep S’mores

[anotherdad]

(Healthier) Pancakes

I've been working on ways to make the girls favorite breakfast food, pancakes, a little bit healther. I've come up with some tricks. During summer vacation in Cape May, I made them for my entire family, and they were a hit. Ever since then, my sister has been asking me to send her the recipe. Which I don't really have. So I decided to try to document it here, for her, and whoever else might want to try it. Sorry, but I don't have any pictures, I'm no food blogger...

I started with this basic recipe:

1 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 3 tbs oil 1 1/3 cup milk 1 egg

I began by doing half wheat flour, and using whatever better sugar I could, organic, unrefined, etc. And I added another egg for more protein (maybe even 3 sometimes). But then I started replacing some of the flour with almond and cashew meal. And I added shredded coconut, unsweetened if possible, not the sugary dessert kind. So the end result looks something like this:

1/2 cup white flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 cup almond meal 1/4 cup cashew meal 2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup shredded coconut      Add these all to a bowl and mix together with a fork to get out any lumps 3 tbs oil (I sometimes use olive oil, or I've been thinking about trying coconut oil) 1 1/3 cup milk (use organic whole milk, or even raw milk! And no chemically fed cows!) 2 eggs (or more)      I usually add these all to a measuring cup and stir to break up the eggs.      Then I add the wet ingredients to the dry. Give it a couple minutes to set and griddle away.

And since these pancakes have an ingredient list that looks more like trail mix, I don't feel so bad when I drop a couple chocolate chips onto the cooking batter!

If you're reading this and try it, let me know how it goes, or if you have any other suggestions on how to improve the recipe!

[anotherdad]

This is such a great idea!

[anotherdad]

I love packing lunches

[anotherdad]

I did it! 31 stories and the most terrifying/exhilarating 10 minutes of my life

[coffeeorwhisky]

The real adventure

It’s hard to look at life as a series of chapters. We all want that final thing. A job to retire from, a lifelong relationship, a place to call home. But when you start seeing your life as a story, as a series of adventures, you’re not as scared to try something new. No one wants to start anything if it’s not something that will last. But I don’t think you need to worry about the ending. Think of each new thing as a new chapter in your story. It will likely end. But that’s not a reason to not start it. Each chapter of your life is meaningful and can be amazing. So move to a new city, start a new relationship, take a chance. Start living. Enjoy every moment while it lasts. And realize that you’re writing the story of your own life. A series of chapters and adventures that is all yours. And well worth living for.

[anotherdad]

Autumn camping trip to Hickory Run State Park

[anotherdad]

Camping with the girls in the Pine Barrens of NJ

[anotherdad]

They're losing all their teeth!

[anotherdad]

A morning bike trip to Sister Cities Park

[wholefoods]

Mark Frauenfelder is on a grown-up mission to reconstitute play. He and his daughters are roamers, engineers, sci-fi evangelists, curiosity-sparkers, authors, skateboard-builders, and believers in all things fantastic. Plus he’s got a sandwich guitar. —from the archives: Dark Rye’s Play Issue

[anotherdad]

This is so inspiring to me!

[anotherdad]

A Funner Summer

[anotherdad]

Last day of school = Ice cream for dinner!

[anotherdad]

Instagram dump, part 2: Spring 2013