In typical fashion, I've nicknamed my daughter. I believe it's only natural that we spend months agonizing over a first name and then a middle name (normally combined) only to discard them almost instantly once the child is born. My daughter's is Bean. Not Jelly Bean, or Beany Baby - just Bean. Occasionally we mix it up a bit and call her Halloween Bean, or Christmas Bean - well you get the point, Holiday's come and go and so do the names. She's five, but already a carbon copy of me in th...

Then be not coy, but use your time, And while ye may go marry : For having lost but once your prime You may for ever tarry. I wasn't supposed to have my little heathen last night but the ex-wife wanted to go see her boyfriend. So of course I happily went and picked her up, any excuse to have her is a good one to me. I've been told before that I'm being taken advantage of. That the ex-wife just dumps her on me (now more than half the time) whenever she gets tired of her or wa...

The Bean went to the nurses office and was picked up from school by her mother yesterday. A virus with the name of Flu had been floating around, lingering and stalking the little school it had invaded. But yesterday, to the woe of me, the Flu Bug had bitten - and Bean was its victim! Today the little sickly child is bumming around, burning up also I'd imagine, on her mother's bed. Her temperature is ranging from 100-103 and her mood is most likely pausing at dull and slumberous. Oh but ...

The fall is my favorite time of year. I don't see it as an end to a summer, but the beginning to an unmatched seasonal bliss, called winter. Raised, for the most part, in northern Minnesota I became used to the harshness of nature and in doing so was forced to learn of its intrinsic beauty. Each grove of trees is a new masterpiece and each mile a modern lecture in preservation unequaled by even the most blessed orator of today. Now that I have left the permafrost of Minnesota and traveled th...

So there we were, in the car, on the way home from school. The Bean happily singing to "Die Another Day" by Madonna and I was in the front navigating through traffic. She'd had fun at picture day and was happy in her frumpy dress. "Daddy, I'm hungry." Of course, the child had had three meals today. I explained how she couldn't be hungry again, already, she'd just ate at her Aunts, had lunch at school and breakfast at Daddy's. In typical five year old fashion, the subject changed. But ...

I had planned on writing this only on the the days that I had her. But I feel that writing whenever I have occasion would probably paint a more accurate portrayal of her growing up. I didn't have the Bean last night, but I got to see her this morning. It's picture day and I had to drop off the form for her mother. I got to my sisters (where the Bean gets on the bus) right before them. My daughter got out of the car wearing a dress that her mother had made for her, the night before, out of...

For the third day in a row now my ex has dropped off the Bean not appropriately dressed. Two days in a row without a jacket/short sleeve t-shirt and finally today she was late for school with only a windbreaker for 40 degree weather. But at least she did listen when I asked her to dry the Bean's hair, that's been dry this week. Thanks to the advice from those of you out there I have begun a more informative dialogue with her concerning issues like this, but I really do despise its neccessity....

The natural lighting of the church was perfect for picture taking. Even the photographer was going flash-free today. It was a small church really, probably 10 pews on either side, covered with aging padding and old hymnals were placed haphazardly in the racks on the back of each. I'd grown up in churches like this, the slight smell of emptiness, mixed with the candle scent all lend an air of permanance and patience. The perfect message for a church. The Bean and I sat down a bit earlier than...

Our cat is now named Dog. This is totally of my doing and I accept full responsibility for my actions. It's a black cat with a penchant for attacking feet. But for the most part, those feet belong to the Bean or the Girlfriend. He seems to love me, dearly, and my limbs and hands are usually left alone. The Bean has observed the method of obediance training we've decided to use when the cat is bad. We have a spray bottle with a bright pink top that the cat gets a squirt from whenever it...

"Please search your neighborhood and local parks for colorful leaves for use in class." I wish all homework thorughout life were that enjoyable. Sunday, before Football I must assure you all, the Girlfriend, the Bean, and myself were trolloping down the woods path around our complex. It was just before noon, the sun was out and only a few clouds drifted through the sky. A slight breeze sometimes penetrated the small valley we were in and stirred the dazzling display of leaves....

In the early days, Popcorn was sold largely by young men and boy on the streets. They would sell it popped, by the bag or shaped into a ball, or unpopped for a penny or a nickel at a time. Into the early 1900's Popcorn was becoming a large growth industry where 70 cents on the dollar was profit. Popcorn turned out to be so popular that they started using it for many things. Holiday decorations became a mainstay in America, that's for sure. As did the various and assorted treats made from...

I had started to apologize in advance to all parents who take care of their children. But I erased it because why should I cast a doubt over what you'd do in this situation as a responsible parent, hell - as a person who cares about others. The fall has come, and the air is alive with a biting chill. Every morning my child arrives at the bus stop from her mothers without an appropriate jacket, hair dripping wet, and without breakfast. The situation I'm in is a bit tricky, as most sharing c...