When the kids get up in the morning, they run to our room, climb into bed with us, and try to convince us to get up. At least that’s what they usually do. Sometimes, instead of trying to get us up, they’re still sleepy and prefer snuggling. Being generally sleep deprived, I much prefer the snuggling […]

The other evening at dinner, my youngest son put down his fork and looked at me. “Daddy,” he said. “What was it like before there were cars?” “Hey! I’m not that old!” Unfortunately, he looked surprised. “You’re not?” “No, I’m not. If you really want to know, you should ask your mo-” “Don’t even think […]

Over the past month or so, I’ve been teaching the boys how to take showers by themselves. For the 6-year old, of course, this is no big deal. For the 4-year old, it’s a bit more challenging. It also would have been easier if I’d told my wife. It’s not that I was hiding it […]

Both my boys were thumb suckers. We had a terrible time getting my oldest to stop, and now we’re fighting the battle with my youngest (who is four years old). He’s trying, but it seems to be a very difficult habit to break. This morning, I thought I’d take a quick look through my notes […]

With the rest of the family off in Texas this week, I don’t have anything current to use as a DaddyTale. Instead, here’s a tale about something that happened to us several months ago, when we were in St. Augustine. More specifically we were at the merry-go-round at Davenport Park. Normally we all enjoy riding, […]

We have a strict rule in our house: no one gets up before 6:30am. Our two boys sleep in the same room. It’s the oldest’s job to make sure that no one leaves that bedroom before 6:30am. Though he hates the restriction, he likes the responsibility of being the clock reader. Yesterday morning, however, was […]

[This tale is running in the print edition of the Chronicle, but they don’t have it online yet. Enjoy!] DaddyTales:  Christmas SurprisesBy Patrick Matthews I love Christmas.  I love the traditions, the presents, the sense of anticipation, the whole thing.  Most of all, though, I love the surprises. Every year, Christmas brings us new surprises. […]

As I was cleaning up from breakfast the other morning, I noticed my four year old climb up to the counter and grab a Hershey’s Kiss out of the bowl there. It was an impressive climb. He started with a chin-up using the edge of the counter. Then he managed to get his sneaker on […]

Working upstairs at home, I get to overhear some interesting moments in my kids life. The other day, I heard an all-time classic. It started with a loud crash, complete with the sound of breaking glass. A moment of silence followed the crash, and then I heard my oldest son’s voice raised in an urgent […]

For a music teacher at a church-run preschool, Christmas is the most important time of the year. There’s a lot of pressure to put on a good Christmas show, but still create something that’s fun for the kids. I know all this because my wife is the music teacher at N’s Pre-K. Last night was the […]