The Inventor / Momtrepreneur

My son Patrick played on a baseball team this summer with another boy named Patrick whose mom, Grace Welch, started and runs a portable diaper changing pad company called Patemm Pads. There's more to say about her and their family than can fit in this blog post, but let's do a run through:

She invented a round diaper changing pad (it's round so babies don't squirm off of them) now made of natural/organic materials that is the coolest portable baby product and shower gift I've ever seen. It fits a few wipes and diapers and a quick change of clothes, whatever you need for short trips, and folds up like some miracle origami crane.

She and her husband Marty have four great kids they've raised in San Francisco (one of which, Patrick, just finished third in the world junior golf tournament at Pinehurst, putting the country clubbers to shame, and did it after cutting his finger and needing three stitches mid-tournament).

They make all these pads in San Francisco.

The pads are used by everyone from Tiger Woods to Roger Federer, Annika Sorenstam and Courtney Cox. (I know because I saw the letters from them on the wall. Not sure I'm supposed to say anything, but...)

They work like crazy but are completely involved in raising their kids and do everything with them. On most days they are pretty insanely busy, but the company and the family are a true American folk tale. (Grace's parents are from the Philippines, so there's also an immigrant success story in there somewhere.)

Pretty cool right? Go out and get one: patemm.com

Freedom

Here's something my wife and I have been mulling for a while -- at what age is it okay for our kids to go for a bike ride on their own?

The answer largely depends on things like the neighborhood you live in and the maturity level of your kid. But how do you know when the time is right? You want to give them some freedom to grow and explore the world on their own, but you also have to protect them. So what's the number?

Eight seems still too young. Thirty-five might be playing it too safe...

Boys Peeing

There are very few times when Dads know more than Moms about the little ones. One of these rare cases is about boys and peeing. Couple big points about this:

1) if you have a boy, when you change their diaper pee will often come shooting out in a rainbow arc all over you and everything in the surrounding area. You always, always, always have to be ready to cover the little guy with a cloth or the coolest product in the world: peepee teepee







2) as they get older(potty-trained) they cannot always keep their pee straight. It is not a case of not pointing at the toilet. they are not being lazy or mean. it's just that they are part of a population that can't shoot straight. you may not know that because the older guys are sometimes better at cleaning up.

you can teach them to clean up but don't hold them accountable for whether they shoot straight in the first place.

onward and upward

rageagainsthebeans

Of dentists and toothpaste

My usually happy-go-lucky five year-old wigged out in the dentist's chair today. Refused to open his mouth. The reason? He didn't like the taste of the toothpaste they were using to (try to) clean his teeth. Toothpastes, I should say, because they tried four different flavors. Cinnamon was met with disdain, followed by disgust at mint and so on. With my approval, the dentist and hygienist finally held his mouth open and, with much positive encouragement and comforting words, got the job done. Sheesh. Less than a minute later, he was smiling and saying 'thank you' for his new 'Go Diego Go' toothbrush. He's not scarred for life, and he'll do better next time.

On a related note, the only brand of toothpaste he seems to tolerate/enjoy is Tanner's Tasty Paste, which they market as 'flavored just for kids.' We've tried three of the flavors and he likes two of them. Which is a lot better than our batting average at our dentist's office today.

The softest generation

I routinely cut the crust off my kids’ sandwiches. I may be spoiling them.

I can feel the spirit of my father nodding.

Birthday wishes fulfilled - Lego

Some of my five year-old’s birthday take. The boy loves Lego. He switches heads and arms and hats on the little figures. And he builds the vehicles, following along step by step, then asks me to take them apart so he can build them again. They’re like 3D puzzles for him, which is great. And I must say that, while a bit pricey, especially at the high-end, all of the pieces are always there, the instructions are correct, and the pieces fit and hold together. Having purchased some knock-off sets, that’s not always true. In sum, he loves Lego, and that’s cool with me.

Now, does anybody have a solid strategy for storing the hundreds of Lego pieces we have, so that finding a particular piece doesn’t take ten minutes and make me question my existence?

Lesson learned - remember to pack the sunscreen

Spent one night in a hotel on our way home from a trip to visit family. In the morning, the kids wanted to hit the hotel pool before we checked out and headed home. Great idea. Everybody into their suits, headed for the door, when we discover that we’ve left our sunscreen behind at our family’s place, now hours away. Of course, they sell sunscreen in the hotel’s little sundries shop. And of course, it’s $12.99 for a six ounce bottle. I think I scared the lady behind the counter with my, “WHAAAT?!” upon hearing the total.

The kicker? The kids swam for about fifteen minutes before another little girl threw up on the steps of the water slide and we went back inside.