Nail Painting - Bonding With Daughters

“You can tell a lot from a person's nails. When a life starts to unravel,
they're among the first to go.” - Ian McEwan, Saturday

   I'm an artist. Whether by innate character, or the degree I hold (now that I'm in medical sales,...cough-cough!), I'm always an artist first and foremost. When my firstborn turned out to be a girl, I knew I'd be up for nail painting. I've gotten halfway decent at it, and thought I was on my way. Then I stumbled across PolishArtAddition and immediately felt inadequate. I figure as long as I keep trying, my 'Lil Miss won't fault me for making some time to be together.

   A few years back I called my father to check in and say hello. I asked what he was up to and he replied that he had just given my little half-sister a bath, and was brushing her hair. I let an appropriate silence go by before saying softly, "You never brushed MY hair, dad." He protested that "he didn't know what to do with little boys before I could tell him I was just giving him a hard time. It stuck with me though, that he didn't try as hard as he could have. Maybe he didn't try has hard as he THOUGHT he could have.

   Now, I'm not going to make bumper stickers that say "Real Men Paint Nails!", but you get the point. Whether we cook with our little girls, or hammer nails with our little boys. In our house we've not only done that, but I've painted my son's nails and played Jedi with my daughter. It's all in the effort and creating the experiences. I challenge us all to do more, to be more involved, and to get outside our comfort zone when it comes to our children. I wish my father was more affectionate with us four boys. 'Nuff said. What's YOUR favorite thing to do with your kids?

J.

Father / Daughter School Luau

Almost like an exclusive club.

That's a whole 'lotta dads dancing.

 

You know someone is from Hawaii when,....

They are barefoot in most of their elementary school pictures.

 

   This past Friday, my 'Lil Miss had her school's father / daughter luau. When I saw the flyer a month before, I was really excited. It was something fun and special I could do with my sweet little gal, and it was an attempt to bring a bit of the islands to the event. We bought out tickets and counted down the days. I was unsure what to expect, as one of the events planned in the past was cancelled due to poor response. You just can't tell these days.

   So the evening of, I got home from work and we both got all dressed up. I got out my island shirt from vacations past, and she got all dolled up with her flower sun dress and hibiscus flower in her hair. She was bursting with excitement as we left the house. I told her to wait by the door of the car, as I walked up and opened it for her. She asked why I did that and I told her "that's what a gentleman does. He opens the door for a pretty lady." She got an embarrassed look about her with a smile and hopped in.

   We go there and the line to get in rivaled a Disneyland ride. Inside there were a few booths for games, stick-on tattoos, and treats. We got our photo taken together (will post when I received it) and played a few more games, dancing wherever we were to the music. She danced on my feet, arms wrapped around me. Toward the end, we joined the main group to dance the final two songs. A slow song where she requested spins, a few dips, and then holding her in my arms. Then there was the good-bye music we all danced to as the crowd thinned.

   It was a fun time to be sure. It was also amazing to see so many dads there. We were all in various levels of comfort. Some guys looked like a deer in headlights, others like a possum playing dead. There were the few of us that were in our element, making sure our daughters had a great time. No matter the level of enthusiasm, we were all there for our girls. That's what mattered and I heard veterans of the event referencing years past. It's nice to know they're setting a tradition. Sign me up for next year, and ALOOOOOOOO-HA!!!

J.

The Cheeky Daddy's A Daddy Again!

"Sleep is a mythical creature, like a unicorn or snipe." - The Cheeky Daddy

   So we're about 2 months into the new addition of our little family. #3 came along at the end of August and we've been awake ever since. All of the baby items came out of storage and got a good cleaning. All went to plan and our new little one joined us with little fanfare. The older two were anxious and curious. I sat in our room, waiting to be called into our third C-Section, wondering how this would change our lives. 

   And in 8 weeks, it's been a whirlwind. I'm not sure if this entry is real, or a dream. Sleep is on the ration list, though my sweet wife lets me get more than she does. As we look around, I know we all see people from various walks of life. Some are not interested in having a family. For those of us who are, this has been a wonderful addition to our family. Smiles started early, and the older two are sometimes bursting with love for their little sister. We all have trouble defending ourselves from the cute factor. 

   It's inspired another round of creativity, storytelling and the like. I'll be playing dolls, being the prince, and cuddling on the couch to girly cartoons for another while now. I wouldn't change a thing. 

J. 

Kindergarten Graduation

"The tassel's worth the hassle!" ~Author Unknown

     So, my 'Lil Miss graduated from Kindergarten today. I know we all have mixed emotions as parents. There are the feelings of pride and forward motion in life. A sense of accomplishment and worth while time spent throughout the year. Then there are the Luke Skywalker yells of "Nooooooo!!!!!" when I realized that my 'Lil Miss is growing up.
     I helped out a week or two ago in her class, which was a blast by itself. We did snack time out on the small tables. Then the kids played on the enclosed area, complete with swings and play-set. I saw a couple of the boys laughing with a couple of boys from the "big" playground. Then it hit me. My sweet, innocent girl will be out in the great expanse of "the blacktop", as we called it when I was a kid. All the horror of what I heard, learned and copied came flooding back. I was instantly sick to my stomach. I wanted to lock her away in a tower somewhere. It took her teacher, sweet Mrs. Scott, to talk me off my mental cliff. She said that we had to let go as parents. As long as we're concerned, we're on the right track. She mentioned sheltering her daughter too much, and it ended up biting her back in the end.
    So with that, I look forward to a fun summer and try to get her to practice reading, writing her words, and adding stuff wherever we go. Seems like I was just a kindergartener, and now I feel like I'm too old for all this. Or maybe not as ready as I'd like to be. Hmm.

J. 

Nails, Tunes,..... Balance

   So this past weekend found me thinking about stuff in my life. One of the things that always takes me back to the roots of happiness is to quietly spend some time with my 'Lil Miss and paint me some nails!!! I'm getting better at it and she doesn't protest at ALL! In fact, her teacher said that she was showing all her school friends, teachers, classrooms pets, etc. Clearly she is a girly girl who loves to get 'er nails did.
   Make no mistake, is a conversation piece too. I speak with LOADS of people every day and finding small talk to either pass the time or build relationships is important. I rank my daughter's nail VERY high on the value meter. The ladies I speak with (that have influence in the offices I visit), think it's adorable, commendable, above and beyond as a father, and so on. I would have never known. Getting props is always cool, but it's reminded me of how uncommon stuff like that is. There are certain things that are traditionally NOT in a father's bag of tricks. I'm trying to change that, and the result is a closer relationship with my daughter and a different view of me in others' eyes.
   Have your wife show you the basics. Then just trial and error. You can always clean it off and start over (though, age + attention span = few tries). Oh, and I plan on playing several versions of my new favorite song "Never Going Back Again" by Fleetwood Mac. Here's the Glee version, which is pretty good.



Later,

J.

Daddy Painting Nails - Not So Girly After All!

"Daddy, can you paint my nails?"

     The questions once seemed like such an odd one. Yet, a few years back, it all changed. I knew things would be different after my daughter was born. I just didn't know HOW much. I'm one of four boys. We did all things G.I. Joe, pirate, hot lava, etc. Yet we all have girls now. It was a few years back, when I saw a member of our family with HIS toes painted a sparkley silver. I asked him about it and he said it was a way for him to spend more time with his two girls. He would paint theirs, and then they would paint his. It became a tradition. I tried it once in Hawaii with my niece, in order to get her to try it for the first time. It was a great experience.
     So it trickled down to our little tradition. Only so often, we break out the kit and get to trimming, cleaning and painting. TRUST me, I've had to ask for help and direction from my wife. It's totally worth it though. Practice makes perfect, and on a child's feet, the canvas is wiped clean often. I've recently looked into stencils to add some flavor to the end result. Places like OC Nail Art are a great place to get started. I make more mistakes than clean jobs, so take it from a semi-pro, it's more about the time with you daughter.
     Now chat with the wife, break out the colors this weekend, and give it a try. You'll be glad you did.

J.