Surly Dad Thread

[BrazilHorn 6660]

Welp daughter (no pics) got engaged Friday! Super excited for her and my future SIL. 
 

He is a smart kid with a Masters in Accounting from UT. It has been really cool seeing her navigate adulthood and work/relationships. 
 

No clue yet what type of wedding I will footing bill for but I am happy for her and eager to see what future holds. 

[956 Worldwide 34970]

I turned…a number in my 40s about a week ago and my mom sent me maybe the best present ever.  Unbeknownst to me, she had deconstructed and bagged up (with instructions) my very favorite Lego kit and had been sitting on it a bit. 
 

I now have a daughter who is 10 and loves Legos and so in the mail I got it, in a few ziploc bags.  One week of evening constructions later and we have it! I don’t put kids online, but the Black Seas Barracuda is now the flagship of our playroom, and she even likes it better than her Lego “Friends” set. 
 

[hookemATL 11994]

OHHH HELL YEAH I HAD THAT MOTHERFUCKER SAILS AND ALL

 

sorry, kind of nostalgia raged there for a minute. Carry on. 

[hookem2010 2646]

Big brother is now almost too excited about little brother, saying "No, mine" when we try to help him hold the baby at all. I also spent almost half an hour getting him in the car seat today, since he's too strong to get him in against his will without hurting him. Ups and downs.

We hopefully can settle into a bit more of a routine when big brother returns to daycare tomorrow.

[Dutchrudder 11160]

4 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I turned…a number in my 40s about a week ago and my mom sent me maybe the best present ever.  Unbeknownst to me, she had deconstructed and bagged up (with instructions) my very favorite Lego kit and had been sitting on it a bit. 
 

I now have a daughter who is 10 and loves Legos and so in the mail I got it, in a few ziploc bags.  One week of evening constructions later and we have it! I don’t put kids online, but the Black Seas Barracuda is now the flagship of our playroom, and she even likes it better than her Lego “Friends” set. 
 

I had this set as a kid, we got it before they made all the cannons duds, so it had 4 spring loaded cannons. It was awesome. It's in a container in my parents attic somewhere, along with probably 2-300 other sets. Need to go claim them sometime...

[NoName 16645]

On 10/6/2024 at 6:54 PM, Dutchrudder said:

I had this set as a kid, we got it before they made all the cannons duds, so it had 4 spring loaded cannons. It was awesome. It's in a container in my parents attic somewhere, along with probably 2-300 other sets. Need to go claim them sometime...

Genuinely, you should go look through em either to get to do with your kids or sell the ones that are stupid expensive now and then do something with your kids with that money.

[Dutchrudder 11160]

9 minutes ago, NoName said:

Genuinely, you should go look through em either to get to do with your kids or sell the ones that are stupid expensive now and then do something with your kids with that money.

Yeah, I had at least a dozen of the ones on this top 100 list:  https://brickranker.com/rankings/sets. It's got to be worth a ton to the right collector. 

Blackbeard's ship, the Clipper, El Dorado, Black Knight Castle, Forestman Hideout, Enchanted Island, Monorail Transport Base, Monorail Transport System, Inter-Galactic Command Base...  Tons and tons more, I had a whole city setup, the Aquanauts base with a bunch of ships, Western sets, the Robin Hood sets, space, pirates, etc.  So many sets, it's really all I asked for as presents for Christmas and birthday for several years. I hope it's all OK up there, I haven't looked at it in many years. 

[High Plains Drifter 11064]

 

When I was a kid, a lego set was just a bunch of bricks of various sizes, shapes, colors. Build whatever. 

Instructions? SMDH. 

 

On 10/5/2024 at 11:05 PM, hookemATL said:

Amazing. Seriously fills me with joy to read this. I know you aren’t gonna get much sleep over the next few months, but I’m a little jealous for some reason. My youngest just finished with potty training and is growing a mile a minute (mentally and physically). 
 

this photo makes me swell with pride and love and tears. My sweet babies. 

 

Those hands appear to be growing at 100 miles a minute. 

 

 

[hookemATL 11994]

8 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

When I was a kid, a lego set was just a bunch of bricks of various sizes, shapes, colors. Build whatever. 

Instructions? SMDH. 

 

 

Those hands appear to be growing at 100 miles a minute. 

 

 

Lololol goddammit. 

[NorthLoop 14305]

Ugh just found out my 5yo boy has to get major oral surgery. Tooth stuck behind another tooth got fused to the bone. I had a similar surgery a couple years ago and they had to put me under. Makes me nervous as hell for his tiny little body. 

[SurlyGator 912]

3 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

Ugh just found out my 5yo boy has to get major oral surgery. Tooth stuck behind another tooth got fused to the bone. I had a similar surgery a couple years ago and they had to put me under. Makes me nervous as hell for his tiny little body. 

My wife (no pics) and I were sitting in the recovery room with our 5 year old son after he had his tonsils out.  He pointed at the TV and said “Look, there’s two Elmo’s!”

There was only one Elmo.

I said “Aww, baby’s first buzz!”  Mom burst into tears.

Good times.

[NorthLoop 14305]

13 minutes ago, SurlyGator said:

My wife (no pics) and I were sitting in the recovery room with our 5 year old son after he had his tonsils out.  He pointed at the TV and said “Look, there’s two Elmo’s!”

There was only one Elmo.

I said “Aww, baby’s first buzz!”  Mom burst into tears.

Good times.

What kind of sedation did he have to go under? 

[SurlyGator 912]

No clue.  I work with enough anesthesia people to hand him off with total faith.  Plus, this was 14 years ago. I’ve drank a lot of brown water since then.

He will do fine.  An otherwise healthy 5 year old is about as close to bulletproof as you can get.

[hookem2010 2646]

6 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

Ugh just found out my 5yo boy has to get major oral surgery. Tooth stuck behind another tooth got fused to the bone. I had a similar surgery a couple years ago and they had to put me under. Makes me nervous as hell for his tiny little body. 

My 2 year-old had 3 surgeries (for the same, minor thing) between 2 and 6 months. 

Fortunately, my wife is a greenspoint nurse and knew all the surgeons and anesthesia providers who would possibly be involved in his care. It was super stressful, but the issue did get resolved without any negative consequences. 

I get that a 5 year-old is a little different than an infant in that they'll be recognizing to some degree what is going on, but they are quite a bit more resilient than newborns.

Generally speaking, the people taking care of your child work exclusively, or nearly exclusively with children and tend to care a bit more in my experience than your average adult provider. 

Good luck. It's not fun, but having that problem behind you will be a relief.

Edited October 10 by hookem2010

[High Plains Drifter 11064]

 

Posted some time  back that my freshman daughter made the varsity cross country team. They won district, she was the 5th finisher on the team. 

For those that don't know, a varsity cross country team is 7 runners, but only the first five are scored. 

Regionals in a week. 

[jimmyjazz 46502]

8 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

Posted some time  back that my freshman daughter made the varsity cross country team. They won district, she was the 5th finisher on the team. 

For those that don't know, a varsity cross country team is 7 runners, but only the first five are scored. 

Regionals in a week. 

That's awesome.  One of my closest friends ran CC in high school and got beat by one of our girls in a mixed meet.  We gave him endless shit, but honestly he was ill.  That gal ultimately ended up running for Mizzou and in the Olympics, so I guess he pretty much had the last laugh.

[Al_4_ISU 12545]

First day off of harvest since September 10th. Apple orchard followed by local distillery. She’s at the age where 4 weeks ushers in a whole new phase.

[hookemATL 11994]

Perfect ❤️

[Al_4_ISU 12545]

4 hours ago, hookemATL said:

Perfect ❤️

When I got home (we had started harvesting and then had some break downs) she was “helping” my wife put stuff away in the kitchen.

When she saw me she came running as fast as her toddler legs will take her and gave me the biggest hug she could.  It got pretty dusty.  I’ll remember that moment when she’s a PMSing teenager throwing shit at me.

[hookem2010 2646]

The 2 year-old rocketed a pacifier at the baby's face yesterday, then slapped me when I told him he needs to be careful around the baby. So that's where we are at.

[High Plains Drifter 11064]

On 10/13/2024 at 2:48 PM, Al_4_ISU said:

First day off of harvest since September 10th. Apple orchard followed by local distillery. She’s at the age where 4 weeks ushers in a whole new phase.

 

My daughter loved those pigeon books when she was little. 

 

 

[jimmyjazz 46502]

1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

When she saw me she came running as fast as her toddler legs will take her and gave me the biggest hug she could.  It got pretty dusty.  I’ll remember that moment when she’s a PMSing teenager throwing shit at me.

Those moments stick forever.  I recall having dinner at that restaurant near Junior's Beer when my daughter had just started speaking.  She was getting fussy so I picked her up and walked her around, headed out to the covered patio, etc.  She pointed at every ceiling fan and said "wassat?" (what's that?).  It doesn't sound like much, but I'll remember that on my deathbed.

[hookemATL 11994]

Got to watch both my girls (9yo and 3.5yo) dance at a wedding on Saturday. They were hilarious and amazing and beautiful and it made me cry a bit when they were loving on each other/slow dancing. 

Kinda made up for the fact that my wife’s cousin scheduled his wedding on Tx-OU at 5pm for a 2:30 ko

[Brisketexan 105631]

1 hour ago, High Plains Drifter said:

My daughter loved those pigeon books when she was little. 

Fuck, I still love em.  We celebrate the whole Mo Willems collection.  Our kids loved them, and books are our go-to "new parent" gift, and/or gifts we give young kids in our circle.  It makes my heart soar to buy a stack of 5 books to give to a 4 year old, and then they ask me to read them to them?   Fuck yes I will.  Every last page.

When our family "kid group" was little, and we'd all vacation together in California, the night-time routine was always reading a couple of books.  I was usually the designated reader, because I loved to do it, and would switch up my voices and do silly things with different passages.  Some of my greatest memories in life involve reading "Go Dog, Go" and "Toot and Puddle" on the floor, surrounded by 9 kids before they headed off to bed.

And this one.... we give it to EVERY new parent we know:

It...is fucking beautiful.  Seriously, it brings me to tears.  It tells each child how they belong in this amazing world of ours, how every bit of it is connected to them.  How all of earth's creatures, the very laws of physics themselves, welcome them. 

The world is so happy you are here in it.  The very last page, describing the world embracing the new child:

I'm dead serious.  As someone who believes deeply in our human connection to each other, to nature, and to this amazing universe we get to be a part of, it's one of my favorite books of all time, for any age.  And yes, we read it to our little ones as they get old enough to understand it, to ask about the arctic terns and pacific salmon in the story, and to grasp their place in all of this.

Shit, I wish I had a kid I could give this to right now.

[Snake Diggity 4630]

I gotta brag on my oldest (9).  Had parent teacher conferences this afternoon.  Her teacher said “Your child is not only the brightest child I have ever taught, she is also the most well rounded.  She is kind to others, funny, and the other children all look to her for how to behave.  She is always the first to reach out to include a child who is being left out or comfort a child who is upset.  And her standardized tests show she is a full 2 grade levels ahead.”  It felt extremely good to hear something that validating.  I feel a shitload of pressure to keep her on track to reach her potential and not fuck her up.

Thats juxtaposed against my youngest (6), whose teacher said “your child is enormously cute and kind to others, but she is the most stubborn child I’ve ever taught (teacher only has taught 2 years).  She almost never obeys instructions on the first try and despite testing well above average in both reading and math, acts as if she knows nothing about either when it’s time to do work in class.  She seems impossible to motivate.”  Which felt terrible because none of it was surprising to hear and I feel at least some of it can be traced back to my own parenting failures, mostly that we just haven’t given the younger one the amount of 1:1 attention and consistent discipline that we gave her older sister.  I’m determine to do the work to course correct but it is going to be hard.

This shit is hard and always such a mixed bag.

Edited October 14 by Snake Diggity

[jimmyjazz 46502]

Nature >>> nurture

[Brisketexan 105631]

10 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

I gotta brag on my oldest (9).  Had parent teacher conferences this afternoon.  Her teacher said “Your child is not only the brightest child I have ever taught, she is also the most well rounded.  She is kind to others, funny, and the other children all look to her for how to behave.  She is always the first to reach out to include a child who is being left out or comfort a child who is upset.  And her standardized tests show she is a full 2 grade levels ahead.”  It felt extremely good to hear something that validating.  I feel a shitload of pressure to keep her on track to reach her potential and not fuck her up.

Thats juxtaposed against my youngest (6), whose teacher said “your child is enormously cute and kind to others, but she is the most stubborn child I’ve ever taught (teacher only has taught 2 years).  She almost never obeys instructions on the first try and despite testing well above average in both reading and math, acts as if she knows nothing about either when it’s time to do work in class.  She seems impossible to motivate.”  Which felt terrible because none of it was surprising to hear and I feel at least some of it can be traced back to my own parenting failures, mostly that we just haven’t given the younger one the amount of 1:1 attention and consistent discipline that we gave her older sister.  I’m determine to do the work to course correct but it is going to be hard.

This shit is hard and always such a mixed bag.

You just need to reach the conclusion I figured out early into parenting:

Whenever someone praised an attribute or behavior of one of our kids, like being super kind and empathetic, I figured out "yeah....that trait came from/was taught by mom."

Whenever they pointed out that one of the kids was a stubborn shithead, couldn't be bothered to attend to schoolwork, and got into mischief, I concluded "yeah....that's on me."

Pretty easy set of conclusions.

[Snake Diggity 4630]

18 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Nature >>> nurture

Yes, I know.  There’s a shitload of reasons beyond my control that my kids are achieving at different levels; genetics, birth order, luck of other forms (it seems like my older one has gotten much better teachers than my younger one).  But I am just terrified that if my kid gets a bad outcome that I will be left feeling like I didn’t do everything I could to prevent it.  Im determined to leave it all on the court so to speak.  Even though I know what I can actually control is very limited.

[jimmyjazz 46502]

Well, maximizing the nurture doesn't hurt.  (This assumes "nurture" includes discipline.)

[High Plains Drifter 11064]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

"Go Dog, Go"

 

is a gotdamn classic. 

 

I can remember as a little kid thinking that dog party up in the tree looked awesome. 

 

 

[jimmyjazz 46502]

Go Dog Go was a pretty good Austin bar band back in the early 90's.

[pacman 7440]

17 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I’ll remember that moment when she’s a PMSing teenager throwing shit at me.

When the pms hits, it's your wife that will take the brunt of that life change. I will guarantee it!

[ocugolf 1215]

Many of you know my story. Lost a daughter to still birth at 8 months about 6 years ago. Well after 6 years of frustration, disappointment, hundreds of thousands of dollars in doctor bills for IUI, IVF, therapy to unfuck myself after the loss of our daughter, this (not so little) little guy came into our worlds 5 weeks early weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 inches. Still in the NICU 10 days later because at first his lungs were ready to handle the tank and now he can’t eat just quite enough without the feeding tube. After being hesitant to have children, this is the good stuff. Meet Chet OCUGolf! Thanks for all the support, uplifting words, and prayers over the years. Now I just need to figure out how to take care of this thing! 

[Anastasis 23514]

On 10/15/2024 at 8:23 AM, pacman said:

When the pms hits, it's your wife that will take the brunt of that life change. I will guarantee it!

This is true. 

[hookemATL 11994]

4 minutes ago, ocugolf said:

Many of you know my story. Lost a daughter to still birth at 8 months about 6 years ago. Well after 6 years of frustration, disappointment, hundreds of thousands of dollars in doctor bills for IUI, IVF, therapy to unfuck myself after the loss of our daughter, this (not so little) little guy came into our worlds 5 weeks early weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 inches. Still in the NICU 10 days later because at first his lungs were ready to handle the tank and now he can’t eat just quite enough without the feeding tube. After being hesitant to have children, this is the good stuff. Meet Chet OCUGolf! Thanks for all the support, uplifting words, and prayers over the years. Now I just need to figure out how to take care of this thing! 

Congrats!  What a perfect little dude.  ❤️

Thanks for sharing, truly.  Really helped me feel good after a shitty start to the day!🤘 Babies are magic.

[jimmyjazz 46502]

Holy smokes, nearly 10 lbs and 5 weeks early?  That's a big dude!  Congratulations.

[ocugolf 1215]

21 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Holy smokes, nearly 10 lbs and 5 weeks early?  That's a big dude!  Congratulations.

Thanks. They thought if he went full term, he might have gotten to 14 or so 

[Captainant 27990]

36 minutes ago, ocugolf said:

Thanks. They thought if he went full term, he might have gotten to 14 or so 

honestly, your wife is probably better off having delivered him prematurely. 10lbs is HUGE! When my daughter hit 11lbs she started eating enough to sleep through the night, so I hope your sleepless newborn phase is short 🤘

[Snake Diggity 4630]

1 hour ago, ocugolf said:

Many of you know my story. Lost a daughter to still birth at 8 months about 6 years ago. Well after 6 years of frustration, disappointment, hundreds of thousands of dollars in doctor bills for IUI, IVF, therapy to unfuck myself after the loss of our daughter, this (not so little) little guy came into our worlds 5 weeks early weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 inches. Still in the NICU 10 days later because at first his lungs were ready to handle the tank and now he can’t eat just quite enough without the feeding tube. After being hesitant to have children, this is the good stuff. Meet Chet OCUGolf! Thanks for all the support, uplifting words, and prayers over the years. Now I just need to figure out how to take care of this thing! 

The most hook em of all hook ems.  Enjoy it.  Good luck.

[BurntOrange&White 40491]

1 hour ago, ocugolf said:

Many of you know my story. Lost a daughter to still birth at 8 months about 6 years ago. Well after 6 years of frustration, disappointment, hundreds of thousands of dollars in doctor bills for IUI, IVF, therapy to unfuck myself after the loss of our daughter, this (not so little) little guy came into our worlds 5 weeks early weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 inches. Still in the NICU 10 days later because at first his lungs were ready to handle the tank and now he can’t eat just quite enough without the feeding tube. After being hesitant to have children, this is the good stuff. Meet Chet OCUGolf! Thanks for all the support, uplifting words, and prayers over the years. Now I just need to figure out how to take care of this thing! 

Handsome boy and god bless!

[Celery Man 21028]

Once this dude realizes he has hands, watch out 

2 hours ago, ocugolf said:

 

🤘🤘🤘🤘

Edited October 24 by Celery Man

[Jkwellborn 6894]

Fellas, hug your kids and tell them you love them. Got a message from my daughter’s school that one of the kids in the grade above her passed away. Possible suicide from bullying. Terrible stuff.

[South Austin 52747]

16 hours ago, ocugolf said:

Many of you know my story. Lost a daughter to still birth at 8 months about 6 years ago. Well after 6 years of frustration, disappointment, hundreds of thousands of dollars in doctor bills for IUI, IVF, therapy to unfuck myself after the loss of our daughter, this (not so little) little guy came into our worlds 5 weeks early weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 inches. Still in the NICU 10 days later because at first his lungs were ready to handle the tank and now he can’t eat just quite enough without the feeding tube. After being hesitant to have children, this is the good stuff. Meet Chet OCUGolf! Thanks for all the support, uplifting words, and prayers over the years. Now I just need to figure out how to take care of this thing! 

golf clap

[Post Oak 20349]

I'll never understand the trashiness of youth sport parents. I know I shouldn't be surprised.  

My kid plays 8U football. The game before his this AM is 11U. Apparently there is a 12 year old playing on the team that won.  This is the last game of the season and the kid turned 12 in the last 2 weeks. The parents of the losing team are irate to say the least. Even pointing at the kid when he was leaving.  His dad didn't appreciate that at all, as you can imagine.

One of the coaches of the winning team was leaving after they won and some of the other teams parents were yelling passive aggressive BS at him. 

He stopped turned to them in a pretty calm manner and said the boy just turned 12. For most reasonable people that would suffice.  These were not those people. 

[52-80 19283]

wife and i independently heard that this thing is a literal lifesaver so we bought some for the house

 

 

[SurlyGator 912]

Just make sure one of you is doing the Heimlich while the other is is running through the house looking for that thing.

[Jkwellborn 6894]

Just make sure one of you is doing the Heimlich while the other is is running through the house looking for that thing.

Do you do the Heimlich on small kids/toddlers? I could have sworn they said not to in a cpr class. Said it was better to hit them on the back.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4980]

On 10/26/2024 at 9:51 AM, Post Oak said:

I'll never understand the trashiness of youth sport parents. I know I shouldn't be surprised.  

My kid plays 8U football. The game before his this AM is 11U. Apparently there is a 12 year old playing on the team that won.  This is the last game of the season and the kid turned 12 in the last 2 weeks. The parents of the losing team are irate to say the least. Even pointing at the kid when he was leaving.  His dad didn't appreciate that at all, as you can imagine.

One of the coaches of the winning team was leaving after they won and some of the other teams parents were yelling passive aggressive BS at him. 

He stopped turned to them in a pretty calm manner and said the boy just turned 12. For most reasonable people that would suffice.  These were not those people. 

Wouldn't most 11u kids be 12 by now?

[BurntOrange&White 40491]

11 hours ago, 52-80 said:

wife and i independently heard that this thing is a literal lifesaver so we bought some for the house

 

 

We've bought one as well.

[hookem2010 2646]

Good reminder. We had one for our first kid and now that the newborn is here, I need to find it again.