When we scheduled this vacation, I had no idea that the Harry Potter attraction was opening a mere 3 days before we would get there. Let me just say…there is some real obsessing going on with Harry Potter. People were willing to wait hours (up to six was my highest account) just to get in the “village”. Not much need for that if you are willing to wait until the end of the day to get in the village when all the hysteria of the day is over.

If you are taking your children to Universal, you have three, maybe four, things you really need to pay attention to:

1) The Castle. This is, by far, the attraction that you must go on. The line actually takes you through the castle before you actually get to the ride. You have the talking paintings on the wall and you’ll walk by Dumbledore’s office and through a classroom. The characters are represented by holograms that talk to you as you pass through. The ride is similar to the Spiderman ride (for those of you who have visited Universal before).

Kids will love the ride. It is a combination of a movie experience (that you feel like you are a part of) and haunted house in 4D. Make the castle your top priority.

2) The Wand Shop (Ollivander’s). Never went in as the line was too long. My children showed little interest so we decided to spend our valuable time at the park doing other fun things. I would have like to have walked through, but not at the expense of an hour-plus wait. This was the second longest line behind the castle.

3) Honeydukes Confectionary. My daughter HAD to get into this store (which also builds a line). It is really just a candy store, but it carries the Jelly Beans highlighted in the first film. My daughter also had to have a Chocolate Frog.

4) Butter Beer. This is a stand (kiosk) in the middle of the village that sold Butter Beer and alot of it. $10 if you want the collector’s mug and around $4 for a plastic cup. We got the icy kind. Pretty good stuff and worth the try.

As I said before, the hype of the attraction draws people early. Wait and go towards the end of the day and avoid the longer lines.

Downloaded the iPhone app, War. This is a quick moment you can have with your child with a competitive spirit. The fun part is you can shout “WAR!!!” together.

Little moments are the ones they remember.

Parenting with the iPhone…sort of.

Got my tail whipped (by my six-year-old son) yesterday playing ping-pong on my iPhone.

It is amazing what .99 cents will do when it comes to bonding with your child. The app is Skyworks Table Tennis. I do think, however, that the app worked against me to help my son win. Just saying.

The grocery store is a scary place. I know…this seems pitiful…a single dad having trouble with groceries. But try out your observational skills the next time you are at the grocery store. Look at the carts of the moms that are shopping – looking like pros. I’ve done this and I have learned that commercials are, indeed, effective.

Overly sugared cereals; white bread; cases of soda, frozen dinners; single pack juices; convience foods ranging from snack packs, lunchables…and I could go on. This list will not build a healthy child.

I know what my problem is: I always shop unprepared, and that problem comes from not having a line-up of good meals that I can cook. This leaves me turning circles in the aisles. There has got to be a better way than this.

Time to look at iPhone apps for more help. I might rely on this phone a bit too much……..nah.

Most of what I will say about food on this site…I’m about to contradict. I absolutely love Waffle House. For all you northerners, think of the Waffle House as a diner that you can trust to give the exact same service everywhere. That is, you will never know what you are going to get when you walk into a Waffle House, but you know it is going to be interesting.

One late night, I was walking in Soho, NYC with a friend that I visited often (as she was cool and lived in the city). I had been in the city for a few days and I decided I was ready to go home. At 2:00 am, I left the city and decided that I was not going to stop until I could get a sweet tea from Waffle House. I had no idea that the first one would be in Virginia. But damn it, I kept my word as an enthusiast and completed my mission. And that is my only Waffle House/New York City story that I can offer.

My 6 year old and his waffle.

In an unrelated matter, I actually fed my children Waffle House last night. What a shitty father. I was caught off guard (meaning I didn’t realize that I was going to get to keep them) and I had nothing to feed them. So I drew this diagram offering myself as the jackass that was unprepared. On a related note, the waffles were just, damn delicious. Now back to feeding my children the correct way.

Waffles for dinner does not make a nutritious meal.

2010. I’ve prepared for this day. I’ve endured two years of chronic stress that came along with my divorce and the never-ending saga of “what is coming next?”.

I weathered it. Now I’m done. My hindsight for anyone going through divorce (recently) is…don’t give it any more power than it deserves. If you have children, that is your love and they deserve every ounce that you have to offer. Acknowledge your pain but do not not steep in it.

My resolution is to finally…finally let my anger and hurt wash away with last year. It is to plan a calendar filled with activity with my children. We are going to have a blast this year.

Activity. Activity. Activity. A friend of mine described his attitude concerning his approach to sales: “I go out there prepared to make an ass of myself everyday.” I paraphrase, of course, and the context adds more to the phrase, but the thought of taking chances everyday is the excitement that will make up 2010. He said that to me years ago. It wasn’t until after my divorce that I actually started putting that into practice. In 2010, I will take more chances than ever before. Activity takes your mind away from it’s own devices. Activity relieves stress. I could have done without that stress.

2010 will be a year that my children will remember as I will give them the dad that they deserve. As my daughter put it, “I want my silly daddy.” That daddy is right here…with bells on.

Happy new year.

This is my first true Christmas as a single dad. Last year, I was a mess. I had only been out of the house a couple of months. My ex-wife (and I) decided that I would spend the night on Christmas Eve and we would do Christmas in a somewhat familiar fashion for the kids. Very uncomfortable situation, to say the very least. Fast-forward to this year…and my first real Christmas with a real tree.

Over this past year I have learned that, even though I was a pretty good father, I had been missing out on all the little things that I “let” my wife do. Hard to believe that so much was getting by me and I was losing this precious time with them. From homework to basic shopping; for me to be really attending to their needs is the most valuable lesson the divorce could have given me.

This year, I have made my own list of Christmas traditions that I want to have with my children. For example, my mother has given me one Christmas ornament a year since I was born. My wife bought ornaments for the kids, but I’m not part of that anymore. This year, I’m starting back that tradition with my two children. My list also includes what we will do concerning the Christmas tree (which, of course, will be live). I have it loosely planned and will take mental notes on what they took to and what did not affect them. I want to create memories that they will hold onto, similarly to the way I look forward to my mom’s ornament.

Being a new, single dad during the holidays is not easy. There is much regret and reflection. I simply can’t believe that we are not a family in the way that I thought we always would be. I regret that we didn’t make an enthusiastic comeback. But I have also had a full two years of stress that is finally coming to an end…meaning that time is finally moving me on with less and less pain. Having my relationship with my two children is something that I can be thankful for. Having the enthusiasm to be the father that I now am is very much a blessing.

Today, I get to buy Christmas from scratch…a stand for the tree, stockings, lights…I don’t have a thing other than the ornaments my mother has given me and my children. Today, I get to start a new Christmas tradition with my children.

1. Am I doing what is best for my children’s health?
2. AntiOxidants to help fight influenza.

1. I must admit that, since my divorce, I have been growing into a bit of a fanatic about not only my health, but especially the health of my children. I am working on a few things concerning this topic. There is no shortage of information out there concerning what should be done to keep are children healthy. Proper diet, exercise. I’m very big on mental stimulation as I have learned – for myself – how very important the art of being “active” is. What is that saying…”Idle hands are the devil’s playground?”

My observation is that our lack of knowledge concerning diet (what we should actually put into our bodies) has led to an unhealthy American society. Is it laziness? Apathy? To be honest, I’m past the point of trying to figure out the “why” and moved on to the “how”…as in “how can we change this?”. I have two children who need me to do this for them. That is my job. And so I will…

2. Can antioxidants help fight influenza? I came across a report out of the University of Alabama at Birminghan that antioxidants could help in the prevention and treatment of the flu. WellnessResources.com has a nice article that simply illustrates the findings of the researchers. They point out…

“All flu viruses, including H1N1 swine flu, produce a protein named M2.  The production of M2 protein disrupts cells lining the lungs, causing fluid to build up in the lungs and setting the stage for pneumonia.

The researchers proved that M2 induced its damage through a mechanism of free radicals, which progressively rise as the virus replicates.  They further showed that glutathione, the primary cellular antioxidant, stopped the M2-induced free radical damage, thus preventing the problem.”

I, like many parents, have wrestled with the decision of flu shots for H1N1. I do believe in prevention, so I’m interested in these recent findings. My next step is to research glutothione.

Antioxidants have become quite the buzz word. The fact that most of your antioxidants come from vegetable and fruit sources is a cause for concern. Why? Because people already know that fruits and vegetables are good for you but still do not eat them. As an adult, I have that choice because, arguably, that choice only affects me. But concerning my children, I don’t have that choice. I am here to take care of them. If I feed them unhealthy food, they will be unhealthy. I can’t have that.

Helping children with homework is easy with an iPhone.

To have an iPhone is a wonderful thing during homework time. I found a great site, Math is Fun, the other night when I was fact finding my own teaching to my daughter. I had to look up array to double check my own thinking. This site is amazing and a great time saver. I’m sure there are many others out there that we will run into. Come to think of it, there has to be a app for easy math……

Small Activities With Your Children Are Huge

So my daughter loves to read. It is a bond that we have: she knows how proud I am of her because I always let her know it. She will call me just to tell me what page she is on while reading any particular book. We have started a reading club together. I’ll say this ad nauseam…it is the small things that matter. Toys are toys. Candy is candy. My children love them both. But they could leave them at the door when they are with me because we do other things. I’ll read along with my six-year-old son as my daughter is curled up next to me reading her own book. Tonight, I was reading Treasure Island with my son. This particular version of this book is a lighter version meant for this type of reading. We take turns reading a chapter each night we are together. He loves it. My daughter got the idea to get the longer version of the story (at her school library) and read that as my son and I read our book. Very cool. We can discuss it after we are done.

My children also like to write and animate their own stories, so I got the idea to maybe get some books on drawing sometime soon so they can add to their drawing skills – which in turn would make them even more proud of their animated stories. But tonight we went online for drawing tutorials. Both my daughter and son sat in front of the computer and went through tutorials on drawing dogs. The response was amazing. They loved it. Not only did they have a blast, I felt like I could see their self-esteem rise before me. A simple dog! It is not that it is so easy. It is just brilliantly easy and equally effective.

These online tutorials could not be easier. It is like being an activity leader and delegating the work to a professional in the field of your choice. God bless the internet (as long as you have it porn protected!).