DadJack.com Blog

Doesn’t it suck to get back to the grind after a long weekend?  The kids and I had a great Labor Day weekend.  It started with some swimming pool time… Hours and hours of swimming, but that’s what they love to do.  Friday night we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Pit Fire Pizza ….  As a special treat I always let the kids get a Jones Soda (I don’t like them to drink soda, but at least it’s made with real sugar and not loaded with chemicals), which Bing promptly spilled all over himself, the chair and the surrounding area (They were so nice, they replaced the soda free of charge and undertook the mop up and de-stickyizing {not really a word, I know}… I felt so bad, I offered to clean it and pay for the replacement!), Bing was less than pleased, he doesn’t like to be dirty!  After we walked the NoHo neighborhood and stopped into Cold Stone for some ice cream (Where Bing again coated himself – this time with strawberry ice cream)… Their smoothies aren’t bad too!  Saturday we returned to the pool for more dive sticks, jumping and playing “whale” (The kids hold onto my back and I swim under water – the name of the game is not good for the self esteem!)  It was then off to the bowling alley, Bing has been wanting to go for a while now…. Bing bowled a strike and Lucy got a spare (Or a “square” as Bing excitedly explained it to Grandma).  Sunday Angela Channel and Ethan had their “End of Summer Party” (Which was kind of an unofficial Angela Channel birthday bash – Happy Belated Birthday to her!).  There was a kiddie pool, bounce house and Wii…. If they had a rollercoaster I think the kids ultimate fantasy would have been Fulfilled.  For Angela Channel’s actual birthday we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo.  What a nice zoo, the kids loved it… When Bing woke up this morning he told me “I miss the zoo.”

When you drive home from Santa Barbara you pass so many beautiful beaches, and on a holiday weekend the traffic moves slowly.  I was in the back seat of Ethan and my sisters car, wedged between two car seats holding sleeping kids.  As I sat there, the sun setting on the last day of summer, I watched as we passed the remainder of beach BBQ’s and fun in the sand.  Lucy’s head leaned against the window, her hair glowing orange from lowering sun, her eyes shut, resting from the day of otters and snakes, lions and penguins.  She looked so peaceful.  I remembered that feeling, of being maybe 7 or 8, riding my bike in the late afternoon warmth, knowing that tomorrow I would be sitting in a class room wearing the brand new Tough Skins and terry cloth shirt my Mom had bought me a week earlier… The sadness that the freedom of summer was ending, trying to squeeze a couple more hours out of it.

Tomorrow will be Lucy’s first day of real school, and she is nervous, excited and scared of the unknown… Just like we all were.  And tomorrow is my first day of having a “big girl”, And I’m nervous, excited and scared of the unknown… Just like all parents are.

Rock on, Jack

P.S. CRN has now started re-running the show the next day from 6a-8a on CRN 6, so if you get us on your cabe you’ll be able to hear us while you get ready in the morning!

Sorry I’ve been slow to post this week, I’ve had internet issues and been busy having fun with the kids!  I’ll post a full blog later, but I wanted to pass this on, it came from a pod-friend and she needs votes A.S.A.P.!

“message: Hi, Jack. I’m a long time fan of you and Stench and was wondering if you would be able to help me. I’m on a reality show called hellbent for hollywood. It’s like American Idol for actors. Anyway, we’re down to 38 out of 2000 and I’m one of them! If I make one little mistake, I’m out, but, there’s something that can save me. Just like in the real Hollywood, if you’re popular, you can get away with more. Would you pretty please ask the army to help me out and vote for me? If they go to www.hellbentforhollywood.com and enter their email on the right and then put 343 (that’s my actor number) as their favorite actor, I would really appreciate it! Our next elimination is september 8, so any votes before then will greatly help me out (but votes after that will help, too)!
Thank you for the support and keep up the good work!”

Let’s get her some votes!!!!!  You Rule!!! Jack

The kids and I had a good day today.  We started with breakfast at our local haunt, Panera… We like it because the bagels are OK and they have great outside seating where we can people watch.  then we went for a walk, we like to cruise NoHo.  Next it was off to the pool, where we jumped in and played with dive sticks. (It’s going to be so boring when it gets cold!)  We relaxed and watched Land of the Lost for awhile… The original series, not the crappy movie remake…  You don’t realize how bad that show was until you re-watch it as an adult.  And I ended it, before heading to the CRN, by enjoying some live music… NoHo does this discover new artist thing the first Thursday of every month.  We watched Galactic Flo at the Howes Market loading dock… no really.  It was actually really fun and the kids loved it.  Not sure what’s on the menu for tomorrow… Except I do know that we will be going to Cold Stone at some point, I promised the kids we’d go.

Free Chik-Fil-A. He must have been really hungry!  Can we put this to rest now?  It’s a boy! Party like it’s Oktober. This is how the pursuit we spoke about on the CRN ended.  Don’t bring your teachers brownies for the first day of school.  I told you!  Leave the teachers alone.

Bing trying to catch up

Galactic Flo at the Howe's loading dock

it's such a weird place to play

the kids enjoy the show

mouth full of candy

dancing

rocking the house

Rock On… And have a great Labor Day Weekend!!!! Jack

Oh ya, I almost forgot on, on today’s podcast – Josh Blue, you might remember him from Last Comic Standing. And Tuesday, Monica – Our old assistant producer, she gives us an update on her new baby and her life.

That is pretty much what our day was about.  Since Denny’s and Bob’s Big Boy have let us down IHOP has taken over as one of our faves. (and Pit Fire Pizza!)  I’m not sure what we’re going to do tomorrow, but It’s a sure bet we’ll swim at some point.  There was no sign of fire in Sunland tonight, so that was reassuring, hopefully they’ll have the Station Fire contained soon. I hope you something fun planned for the long weekend…  And hopefully it’s not too smokey to do fun stuff!

Should you get your kid a cell phone?  One tough kitty.  The secret ingredient.   Elephants hate rich guys!  Stretch’s dream girl.  See Ferris this weekend.  Free Patti Smith concert Thurs night.  Everybody sing “Don’t let your kids stay at the Y-M-C-A“.  R.I.P.  Akituusaq!

Rock On, Jack

I’ll still be podcasting and at the CRN, but that’s when the kids get here.  The kids spent Monday afternoon with me, we took the subway to Hollywood and Highland, went to Johnny Rockets (The peanut butter chocolate shakes are amazing!) and saw G-Force at the El Capitan (It runs there through Sept. 7th, I highly recommend it, the “G-Force Experience” that ticket holders get to go to after the film was so much fun.  Disney does stuff right!)  As you’ve seen, I’ve been documenting the fire from my point of view… Luckily it looks like fire fighters are getting the upper hand, so last nights may have been the end of my fire photos.  I had to take care of my burnt out brake light ticket today… It’s never fun having to go to the courthouse, even when it is something minor.

I kind of bummed that summer is coming to an end… Although, I guess that I could look at it as the start of fall and winter.  I just am not as into those seasons as I am summer.  Dark earlier, cold weather, holidays, taxes, just can’t compare to long hot days, warm nights, BBQ’s,  tan lines.  I think it’s extra hard this year because my little girl starts kindergarten… My baby is starting school, which means we’re all getting older.  It was just a few years ago that I would tip-toe into her room on those cold winter mornings and make sure that she was covered and snug in her crib… Now, on the weekday she is with me, it will be about trying to wake her up, get a healthy breakfast and get to school before the bell.  I know they can’t stay babies forever (No matter how much I would like that!), but why do they have to grow up so fast?  And they get so smart, just yesterday she asked “If all drains lead to the ocean, why do you throw matches into the potty?” (Which I do when I light candles)  I don’t why that caught me off guard? I think because you forget that those tiny brains are working overtime and when we say something (like “all drains lead to the ocean”) it sticks, and they think about it.  It made me really want to make sure I pay attention to what I say, and the accuracy of my explanations.  As bummed as I was by all this, I did realize… At least I still have Bing, and he’s small for his age – So I should be able to squeeze a little extra baby time in with him (Although, he’ll be the first one to tell you “He’s not a baby! He’s a big boy!”  and if you don’t believe him he’s libel to show you his “Big Boy Panties” like Daddies!)

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She’s breaking out of here! These pigs are out of here too!  And this guy wants back in!  Look what he caught.  The other 9 can’t remember if they did or didn’t?  The people from the previous story should move to Italy.  Enjoy kraut fest.  This sounds good.  It was good for some.  How many ounces per gallon does it cost?

Rock On, Jack