I’d like to thank all of the dads who played in the league this year, and I’d definitely recommend visiting their blogs when you get a chance:

Pat from Annoyingly Boring?

Richard (team name Karma Police)

James from Daddyshack

Jeff from Daddy’s Toolbox

Whit from Honea Express

Ed from Little m Long a

Russ from Dads Who Mock the World (Russ and I met in the Championship this year – Great Game Man!)

Kevin (St. Paul Strikeforce)

Chris (FR8 MOVER)

Now that Discovering Dad won the Dad League Championship, I highly recommend that you all “Discover the Ravens” in the Playoffs next week as they whoop up on Pat’s Patriots!!!!

Also, if any of you Dad bloggers want to join the league next year, stop over at Annoyingly Boring and beg Pat to let you in!  I’m already planning my strategy to win again next season!

Because diapers don’t grow on trees. Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2010 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Our Founding Fathers, whose imperfections often mirror our own, were outstanding role models for men across the ages.  They were political leaders, philosophers, entrepreneurs, patriots and patriarchs of their families.  Most people recognize their individual accomplishments in the Revolution and founding achievements, but how much do you know about their role as family men, husbands and fathers?

Founding Fathers and the Families

George Washington married the widow Martha Dandridge Custis on January 6, 1759.  He was a noble and gracious stepfather to John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis.  He was a great example of a man who welcomed the responsibility of fatherhood, regardless of the fact that the children were not his biological heirs.  Later in life, George and Martha also raised two of their grandchildren.  Washington was the ultimate father of America and an outstanding role model for stepfathers around the world.

John Adams married Abigail Smith on October 25, 1764.  This second president was no second-rate father to his five children – Abigail, John Quincy, Susanna, Charles and Thomas Boylston.  Adams lead his family with the same fair-minded reason and rationale as he did the young country, and as he helped our young developing confederation blossom into a nation so too did he help his children find their way from impetuous youth into prosperous adulthood.  His son John Quincy would follow in his father’s footsteps and become the sixth President of the United States.

Benjamin Franklin began a common-law marriage to Deborah Read on September 1, 1730.  Adding to the diversity of our Founding Fathers, Franklin was father to then deemed illegitimate son William.  In spite of the private challenges placed on this prominent family, Franklin never let it get in the way of raising his son to be a leader.  Unfortunately, the Revolution tore this father and son apart, as William remained a loyalist.  Franklin, though, served as mentor and guardian to grandson William Temple throughout the majority of his youth.

Thomas Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton in 1772.  The had five children – Martha, Jane, Mary, Lucy and Lucy Elizabeth.  After the birth of Lucy Elizabeth, Jefferson’s wife Martha unfortunately died.  He never remarried, and so he was an early example of a man who achieved amazing success in his career while balancing the responsibilities of being a single father, at least on the surface.  It is widely accepted that Jefferson took Sally Hemmings, enslaved to his family and believed to be half-sister to his late wife, as his companion for the next 40 years.  He fathered six more children with Hemmings, making Jefferson father to one of the largest families among the Founding Fathers.

John Jay married Sarah Livingston in 1774.  This lesser known Founding Father held more posts in more countries than any of his compatriots, and he fathered six children Peter, Susan, Maria, Ann, William and Sarah Louisa born in a variety of countries from America to Spain to France.  While Jay raised his children to have a worldly view, they went on to follow their father in patriotic zeal and commitment to the furtherance of his Republican ideals.  Jay remained close to his children throughout his life, and he was an excellent example of a committed father of both America and his family.

James Madison married Dolley Payne Todd on September 15, 1794, and much the same as Washington, James Madison took on the role of stepfather to a son John Payne.  Madison called young John by the name of “Payne,” but he never acted like being a stepfather was a pain or burden to his prominent political life in early America.  Madison was known as a dutiful and indulgent father, and he remained close to Payne throughout his life.  Even though Payne was known as an irresponsible young adult, Madison sought to provide every opportunity for the boy to prosper in his career and life. Madison tried to impart values, propreity and integrity to Payne, but in the end after Dolley’s death, the spoiled son squandered the family fortune.

Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler on December 14, 1780.  An orphaned and illegitimate son himself, Hamilton vowed to ensure that his 10 children knew their famous father and were provided love and security throughout his life.  Unfortunately, Hamilton’s eldest son Philip died in a duel on the banks of the Hudson River in 1801, which was a sad and prescient precursor to Hamilton’s own death in a duel with Aaron Burr in that same spot three years later on July 11, 1804.  His wife and children lost their father on July 12, 1804, just eight days after the celebration of the birth of the great nation that he helped found.

The Founding Fathers of America represented a diverse mix of traditional and non-traditional husbands and fathers.  Many of them celebrated the birth of a new and great nation alongside their sons and daughters, while some became patriarchs of their own families after shepherding our young country through Revolution and independence.

On July 4, 2009, my family and I will celebrate the birth of America, and I will also give homage to those great Founding Fathers who gave me and my children unprecedented freedom and opportunity.

Happy Birthday America!  Happy 4th of July!

Because diapers don’t grow on trees. Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2010 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for many women to make friends of other women? Most seem to be innately tuned into the social steps necessary to establish and maintain relationships. Men on the other hand, not so much.

I, for one, can honestly say it is not easy for me to develop friendships with other men. I don’t understand the proper male bonding etiquette, topics of discussion and how to get past that initial awkward moment of meeting. Do I enjoy sports, sure, but do I watch all sports, not on your life, especially with two toddlers running around. So when I start a discussion and other guys start talking about trades between teams, the RBI of this player, the number of sacks in a previous game or who scored the winning goal last night, I sometimes find myself simply nodding and hoping I am affirming in the right spots.  I don’t like this uncomfortable game of just “playing along” though.  It makes me wonder if these men are involved in their kids/family life at all – how do they find the time to watch sports and spend time with the kids?

This is the same when it comes to other male past times. My father was not a do-it-yourselfer. He was more of a hire-it-out kind of guy, and I tend to follow in his footsteps for better or worse. Over the years, I have learned to be slightly more handy than my dad, mostly because my father-in-law is one of those guys who can build, fish, fix cars and repair most things around the house.  I try and learn through osmosis from him, but when someone brings this up as a topic of conversation, I am at a loss for words once again.

So, My question for all of you guys is, how do you do it? We just recently moved back to Michigan from being outside of the State for three years. We moved to a new area where we have never lived, and though I have friends in other parts of the State, I don’t have any guy friends and my wife and I haven’t been able to make many couple friends either.

I can think of a few ideas to meet people where I won’t feel completely at a loss: Join a church group, sports league, singing group, or take up an adult pastime, but I’m not sure I have the time.  Again, what are some things that you do to make new man friends?  And once you do make a new friend, how do you maintain that friendship?

For me, it is making calls, dropping emails or Facebook messages, getting together for a drink or having a cook out.

I believe it is very important to remember that not only are you a husband and father, but also a human being who needs to have real adult friendships.  The problem with men, though, is that this is not second nature to us like it is for our wives.

So, what do you do to make friends like a man?  I look forward to your thoughts on the matter!

Chris Lewis is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad.  His personal site is Dad of Divas.  You can also follow Chris on Twitter @dadofdivas. Chris is also working on project called The Great Minivan Trade Up – check it out too.

Because diapers don’t grow on trees. Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2010 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

Related posts:

1. The Pressure of Being a Good Husband and Dad I’m almost thirty-seven. I’m a man, and I'm a husband...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

How Many Can You Do? Chin-Ups Are the BEST Upper Body Exercise For Men

Those darn monkey bars were never my friend when I was a kid. I had friends who could swing off them, hang upside down on them, I even know one kid that could do a 1-arm handstand on them. Me? Not a chance. I could barely get through 2 rungs before my grip would give out and I would come crashing down to the sand.

It was embarrassing. So as a plump 10-year-old, I made a pact to myself to get better at it. To be able to swing from bar 1 to bar 10 without the embarrassment of falling on my worn out Levis that my mom had to sew knee patches on.

That summer, I worked on it. Every day before going to baseball practice I’d make sure I swung by the playground and did my round on the monkey bars. I grew that summer as well, and I went from plump to “athletically husky.” I was determined. By the time September rolled around, I went from 1 to 10 without slipping.

The cycle started again in high school when I started doing CHIN-UPS. As a then skinny freshman basketball/volleyball player, I didn’t really have access to a great gym. So one of my mentors said that chin-ups would allow me to wear my basketball jersey (without the t-shirt underneath) and not get laughed at. Determined again, I set my goals and by the time I was a senior, I was doing sets of 20. I just applied the same “monkey bar” principles to get me there.

Chin-ups are, by far, the best bodyweight-only exercise that you can do. They involve the use of almost every upper body muscle, and they are great for your abs as well.

To perform a chin-up, take a supinated (palms up) grip on a bar. From there, suspend yourself by hanging with your elbows completely locked out (this is called a “dead hang”). Brace your abs like someone was about to punch you in the gut and start pulling. You’ll want to pull yourself all the way up so that your shoulders are down and away from your ears and the bar is almost touching your chest. Lower yourself in a controlled motion and repeat.

OK, so what if you can’t do a chin-up yet? Well, there are a few things that need to happen in order for you to get there.

First, drop some weight. Let’s face it. If you’re too heavy, there’s not a lot of chance that you’re going to be able to get up there. So you need to drop some extra body fat. This is accomplished by 1) altering your diet by eating less processed food and junk and more lean protein, healthy fats and fruits & veggies and 2) using a program that combines resistance training and interval training to incinerate those extra pounds.

Second, you need to practice the movement. Just like you needed quite a few reps to learn how to throw a football properly, the same holds true for any physical motor skill – chin-ups included. PERFECT practice makes PERFECT. So buy a chin-up bar or hang one from your garage and get to it.

I know, I know. How am I supposed to practice doing a chin-up if I can’t even pull myself up? Well, there are 2 great tricks that I’ve taught my clients to use to get there. Check out the video below to learn more…

So there you go. Dropping some weight and practicing consistently using the tricks that I outlined above will definitely get you to that goal of doing your first chin-up. It’s the best way to develop that functional relative strength that we all need to be the hero in our kids’ lives. Keep at it Dads and you’ll get there in no time.

Chris Lopez, BSc HK, CSCS is a fitness expert, writer and personal trainer. He is an occasional contributor to the Globe and Mail, Maximum Fitness and Men’s Fitness Magazines and has been helping get Busy Dads in shape for 10 years since the birth of his first child. He and his wife live in Toronto, Canada with their 4 daughters. Visit Chris’ blog at FitAndBusyDad.blogspot.com or sign-up for your free report & workout at www.FitAndBusyDad.com.

Because diapers don’t grow on trees. Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2010 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

Related posts:

1. Fitness for Dads – The “S” Factors: Three Reasons You May Not Be Burning Fat Your weight workouts are intense and you’re getting better and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Unlike my friends who spent the summer before sophomore year working and partying, I shipped off on a summer tour of duty.  I flew with my fellow swabs in the cargo bay of a C130 airplane across the Atlantic to Lisbon, Portugal.  Imagine riding a rickety roller coaster for hours on end and that’s about what the flight was like.

The reason we flew to Lisbon was to board America’s Tall Ship The Eagle.  Little did I know that this trip would be one of the greatest adventures of my entire life.

We spent a few days in Lisbon before setting sail.  So, what do you think a group of 18-year-old cadets did to entertain themselves?  Drink, of course.  After all, we were “legal” over there.  We hit just about every bar in the port area, and I remember karaoke with a group of Russian sailors in the wee hours of the morning.  I even traded hats with one of them, and I’ve still got it tucked away in storage to this day.  We barely made it back in time to shove off, and I had a major hang over for our first day at sea.

The salty air and constant activity helped us to sweat the poison out quickly.  We spent the first few days learning how to do everything on the ship, from swabbing the deck to setting the sails to maneuvering at sea.  We made one stop in the island port of Madeira before embarking on our voyage across the Atlantic to Bermuda.

I had a group of five friends who were more like brothers to me.  We all played on the academy’s football team together, and we quickly developed friendships that I knew would last our entire lives.  The five of us rented a tiny little Yugo-type car in Madeira, and we went exploring.  It was amazing.

We toured a wine factory.  We drove to the top of the island.  We found several quaint restaurants that happened to sell 10 cent beers.  We saw some of the most amazing hot springs and cliffs I’ve seen in my life.  We drove around that entire island, soaking up every bit of culture and excitement (and beer) we could muster.  We had a blast!

It was very cool to have liberty in foreign countries, and most of my fellow cadets and I had never traveled outside of the U.S. prior to this experience.  It was great to meet so many people, and it definitely helped to expand my world view tremendously.

After a few days in port, we set sail for the long trip across the Atlantic through the Bermuda Triangle and eventually arriving in Bermuda for one of the largest Tall Ship shows in the world.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of being at sea on a tall ship for four weeks.  It takes some getting used to.  First, it’s a lot of work sailing a large ship in open seas, and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for explorers and merchants who did this for a living hundreds of years ago.  It’s nothing like going on a luxury cruise.

Every day was filled with duties, and we rotated through things on a weekly basis.  We all spent time working on deck, and we all spent time below deck in the engine room and kitchen.  The first time I climbed up to loosen the very top of the mainsail, I’ll admit I was a little nervous.  It was an amazing sight though, looking out over the vast sea from such a high vantage point.  The wind, smell and view were all unforgettable.

My favorite thing about being at sea was the sunsets.  Watching the sun go down at sea is one the most brilliant and awe inspiring things I’ve had the good fortune to experience.  Rays of light dance across the waves, and just before the sun dips out of sight, a green blast of light shimmers on the horizon.  It is nothing short of incredible.

We did and saw many things at sea that I’ll never forget, including climbing out on the tip of the mast under full sail and feeling the spray of the ocean on my face as we crashed through the waves; 20+ days listing at a 30 degree or more angle; watching hundreds of dolphins chase the ship at unbelievable speeds; countless games of spades and hearts with my friends; and, navigating by the stars like sailors of old must have done for centuries.

One experience about this trip at sea stands out in my mind above all others though.  When we got to be dead center in the Atlantic ocean, the Captain stopped the ship for swim call.  This is a rite of passage for sailors around the world.

Here’s the deal – you can’t weigh anchor in the middle of the ocean because the water is miles deep, so the crew uses the engine to keep the ship in place while people go swimming.  How do you get in the water?  You jump off the side of the ship, which is like jumping off a several story high building.  How do you get out of the water?  You climb up the cargo net draped over the side of the ship.  What protects you from sharks?  Two crew members sit on either end of the ship with machine guns ready to fire.

It was one of the most exciting yet scary things I’ve ever done, especially since I can’t stand being in water that I can’t see the bottom.  Some of my friends swam around for over an hour, as if they were chilling out in a freshwater lake back home.  Me – I jumped in, swam to the cargo net, climbed out and repeated that process about 10 times.  I was not about to stay in the water any longer than I had to, but I did enjoy the thrill of jumping off of the ship into the water.  The only scary part was how deep you would go when you hit the water, and it seemed like an eternity to get back to the surface.

A day or two after we crossed the center of the Atlantic is when we hit some bad weather and rough seas.  I was lucky to be one of the few members of my class not to get sea sick.  Lucky in that it got me duty on the bridge, which was really cool.  I actually volunteered to do night duties with a few of my friends.  The sound of the ship crashing through the sea at night was amazing, and I also volunteered for every opportunity to go aloft for whatever needed to be done.

After about a month at sea, we headed into port at Bermuda.  This was a big deal.  We were representing the United States of America at a major tall ship show where vessels from around the world had come to show off their nation’s pride.  I felt very honored to be one of the cadets chosen to stand on the mast of the top sail as we arrived in port.  What does this mean?  I stood at attention on the mast many stories aloft for nearly two hours as we came into port.  I had never felt so much pride before in my life.  It was like I was flying high above the world, looking down from the heavens.

As I stood up there on that mast, I couldn’t help but think, “This was definitely an adventure of a lifetime!”

I hope my kids get to have an adventure like this one day.  It changed the way I viewed the world, and it gave me a new appreciation for life and freedom.

Have you ever had an amazing adventure in your life?  Write a blog post or leave a comment about it.  All posts and comments will be entered into the Harry Potter Adventure of a Lifetime Contest.

Because diapers don’t grow on trees. Sign up for Never Blue Ads.

©2010 Discovering Dad. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.