Events Archives - Page 7 of 9 - The 40YrOldDad The 40YrOldDad

August 9

SUB-URBAN COWBOY

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 1-2 years, D-scoveries, Events, Places, The Baby Years
2 Comments

9
AUG

“Home…home on the range. Where the pigs and the creepy goats play…”

Ever had an unexpected surprise that turned something potentially ho-hum into something ho-ly crap, this is pretty cool? Like when they originally announced Big Brother was returning, but instead of Gretel Killeen hosting, it will be Sonia Kruger. Or when Matt Smith was first announced as the 11th Doctor Who. Or when M&M’s announced they were adding peanuts to their candy?

Well, the same thing happened when Mumma announced she was taking Granny, Indy and myself to…The Collingwood Children’s Farm.

In my head, I had imagined a small petting zoo. A few corrals with straw, some guinea pigs, rabbits and something exotic thrown in. Maybe a man-eating tarantula…like, Paris Hilton? I mean, it’s Collingwood for crying out loud (ie: inner-city suburbia), what do you expect to fit inside a 1×1 bedroom apartment on top of a fish’n’chip shop? But when we arrived, I had to check we hadn’t just blown in off a tornado because what we saw there definitely had a, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas no more”, kind of vibe to it. (more…)
August 7

PIZZA MASTERCLASS

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: Events, Food, Sponsored Posts, The Baby Years, Tips
2 Comments

7
AUG

Now that we’ve moved into the solid food stage, besides ducking hurtling produce projectiles and chiseling 3 day old pumpkin out of the carpet, occasionally some food actually finds its way into Indy’s mouth.

And now that he has half a dozen teeth in there (that’s five more than the average Collingwood supporter), sources tell us he can pretty much start eating whatever we eat. And as long as he’s not eating my chocolate (punishable by death), we owe it to him to make sure that everything that goes in there is a healthy option.

Hence, I was invited to participate in the Blogconnect Pizza Masterclass put on by the good folks @KeepLeftPR and sponsored by Bakers Delight, Leggo’s, Perfect Italiano, Woolworths and Dan Murphy’s. Hold the phone…Pizza a healthy option? It sure can be, and I can’t believe how much I didn’t know about making a pizza…‘perfect’.
(more…)
July 16

BALI BRUDDAHS

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 1-2 years, Events, The Baby Years
2 Comments

16
JUL

Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Seinfeld and Costanza, some of the greatest enduring friendships in history, and thanks to our recent trip to Bali, we can now add…Indy and Angga to that list.

A ‘bro-mance’ made in ~~heaven~~ Bali. From the very instant these boys met, they were Bali Bruddahs for life! I guess both lads being conceived in Bali has grounded in them a spiritual connection to this beautiful island and ultimately, to each other.

Vegas doesn’t light up as much in each other’s company as these two boys. Right from the get go, there was laughing, smiling and much excited hand flapping between them. And language was no barrier to their symbiotic order of play and merriment either. Angga speaks both Indonesian and English while Indy has only mastered ‘Indyspeak’, yet they both seemed to communicate on a level of coordination rarely seen on So You Think You Can Dance.

(more…)
June 30

THE NEW ‘MILE-HIGH’ CLUB

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 6-12 months, D-scoveries, Dad Mishaps, Events, The Baby Years
3 Comments

30
JUN

Look, up in the sky! Is it a bird, is it a plane…

In case you weren’t aware, our son was originally conceived in Bali. You can read about it here. The video tape is available for download, as soon as I can work out how to get the tape back out of our old VCR. I’ve tried jemmying it out with an old bread-knife but it just won’t budge, maybe you just have to imagine it…wait…screw that! (That’s not helping, either. Move along, nothing to see here). So, now our boy is about to turn the big…ONE…we thought it only fair he gets to see Bali…from the outside.

Our three hour wait at the airport turned into five hours, once we learned that we had a plane ready for boarding, but no crew to fly the damn thing. True. Either there’s a shortage of pilots graduating from flying school, they slept in, were drunk at the bar (or heaven forbid), they got in the wrong airplane and after realising their error, jumped out at 20,000 feet. Or they saw a couple guys with moustaches and said, “Hey, what size shirt do you take? Do you like epaulettes?” At any rate, the airline gave us food vouchers and Indy entertained and charmed the irritated passengers with his show-off shenanigans in the Gate Lounge before we were finally underway. (Where on earth does he learn such behaviour?)

Around the 30 minute mark, the fear and terror gripped me… (more…)
June 23

NOT THE DROIDS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 6-12 months, D-scoveries, Events, The Baby Years
1 Comment

23
JUN

Gender Equality has been an issue as far back as there has been…um, well…gender…(I imagine?). And no topic of gender equality has been more current than the topic of Stay-at-home-dads. Enter The 100% Project. A group of inspiring people with a vision to see 100% of Australia’s leadership talent, female and male, equally contributing to our social and economic future.

This month, I have been fortunate enough to contribute an article to The 100% Project’s quarterly publication, Beyond The Spin, where I was invited along with a series of other male writers, to contribute their ideas and observations on the topics of leadership, parenthood and gender roles.

The following article is my contribution to The 100% Project’s June publication of Beyond The Spin… (more…)
June 5

YOU HAD ME AT…BLRRRP!

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: D-scoveries, Events, Thoughts
3 Comments

5
JUN

Wow, here we are at our 100th post and I felt it only deserving that we look back on just how we got here in the first place. For those of you reading this, it was probably through your internet browser, email or mobile device… but that’s not what I’m getting at. Every fairy tale romance has a great origin story, and this is ours…

It started…with a ‘fart’.

Okay, let’s back up a little. I answered an advert for a short film that was being shot the following weekend that for some reason, I had an unexplained overwhelming urge to be involved in. I called the director and the non-speaking role of the boyfriend had not yet been cast. We agreed to meet at her place to audition.

We met the next day and I got the part, I was also informed that the woman playing my girlfriend was also supposed to meet us, but was running late. I couldn’t stay, I literally had a train to catch and as I got to the end of the driveway, she suddenly arrived. Our initial meeting was as brief as Borat’s mankini, with her thinking, “Yeah, he’s cute but much too young for me”, (completely unaware that I was almost a year older than her, thanks to good genes and a regular Oil of Ulan regime), and my thoughts on her…

“Cool, at least she’s not ugly.”

The weekend saw myself booking into a Ranger’s Station at Wilson’s Prom amid a ragtag student film crew, when I suddenly spied a familiar face leaning against the back wall. I sidled up to her and nonchalantly cracked, “Hi, I think I’m your boyfriend?” A come-on line served with so much cheese, you could eat it off a biscuit. I took the rolling of her eyes as a term of endearment, lest my pride be hurt.

Prepping film gear and settling into our cabins, she generously made me a cup of tea and offered an insight into her own cheeky behaviour by stating, ‘You know what my dad used to do to me?” And seared the inside of my forearm, like a cowboy branding cattle, with the back of the scolding hot teaspoon from her cup! So shocked and surprised was I by her sudden and unexpected assault, that I unexpectedly retaliated by sheer reflex, in such a way that was just as equally as surprising and unexpected… (more…)
June 2

MY SEED HAS SPRUNG!

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 6-12 months, Dad Mishaps, Events, The Baby Years
4 Comments

2
JUN

Wa-ho-ho-nilly! Dang…back in April I got all up in my backyard’s face (Spreading My Seed), and like the paparazzi, I was digging through whatever dirt I could get my hands on. Weeks of tending and nurturing have finally paid off as all that dirt has suddenly sprung up into a luxurious green lawn.

And how excited was Indy to explore his newfound sprawling jungle? He was so excited, he started pulling out chunks of grass by the handfuls…

“Noooo!!!”

Like a slow motion action hero, I sprang to my new baby’s rescue, (not my actual baby-baby, my new lawn-baby). Scooping Indy in my arms and pitch’n’rolling him to safety. Grinning broadly with his scraggly green victory spoils clenched tight between his tiny fingers. (more…)
May 21

THAR SHE BLOWS!!

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 6-12 months, Events
No Comments

21
MAY

Hello Everyone,

Well, it took a bit longer than expected (although Indy was 11 days overdue, so I shouldn’t really be at all surprised), but I am happy to announce that our new site has just gone ‘live’.

You can now find us here at www.40YrOldDad.com.

But don’t worry if you go back to our old wordpress.com site, you’ll find your way right back here at our new home.

While our email subscribers will continue to receive email notifications of new posts as before, (no problemo, amigos), WordPress.com followers will only see new posts in the WordPress Reader.

But for our WordPress.com followers who do wish to continue to receive email updates of new posts, be sure to pop by the new site and subscribe with your email address in the ‘Subscribe’ box or enter your email address into the ‘Subscribe’ box here:

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Big thanks to tech-extraordinaire, Alanna from Web Babble, for helping us launch the new site.

We sure hope you like it.

— Join us…join us…join us… 🙂

On the move to 40yrolddad.com
May 4

LEAVE MY CROTCH ALONE

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: Events, Thoughts
24 Comments

4
MAY

With Mother’s Day looming just around the corner, I was reflecting on my own experiences growing up with my mother (and when you sit in the sun in a tin foil hat and mirrorball sequinned jacket, you can do nothing else but, reflect). And whilst extinguishing the dying embers of a smouldering grass fire in my backyard (should have picked a slightly less sunny day for reflection), a couple of incidents come to mind, like…remember the time I wore that mirrorball jacket and burned down the backyard…

Or…

Remember last week when I was trying on jeans in the change rooms and the sexy young sales assistant half my age, snuck in and grabbed me on the crotch?

Okay, you got me. That didn’t really happen. Well…it did, but it didn’t. I mean, it did actually happen, just not like that…exactly. Imagine the same scenario except…flip the ages around and substitute the sales assistant for…you guessed it…MY MOTHER! Probably the most embarrassing thing a mother could ever do to their son…

Take him shopping…for jeans.

(more…)
April 22

EVEN STEVENS

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 6-12 months, D-scoveries, Events, The Baby Years
3 Comments

22
APR

3-2-1…

That’s it!!

7.27pm: Marks the point at which our little man has now lived longer on the outside of the womb, than the time spent inside the womb.

Which officially makes us…

Even-Stevens!

He’s as much mine as he is your’s now, Mumma. (Don’t try to defeat my logic, it will only end in tears for all us…and by ‘us’, I mean…me).

You’ve spent 41 weeks and 4 days with him on the inside and I’ve spent 41 weeks and 4 days on the outside. I know you were there too…tut-tut. Hush, my love….AND SLEEP! (I’m having a moment). (more…)