The Irish Envy Dad Thread

[NDRock]

You need to let your wife pick your outfits for you.

The leather jacket must have been especially embarrassing for her.

Jesus, I thought I was a bad dresser.

 

[ulukinatme]

Leave him alone, ya'll. You'll understand Dad fashion once you've had kids.

 

[wizards8507]

Leave him alone, ya'll. You'll understand Dad fashion once you've had kids.

Seriously, these guys must be some boring-ass people. Half the point of going on vacation is to be able to dress cheesy AF. I don't trust a man who doesn't wear floral-print shirts every single day of his Hawaiian vacation.

We already established in another thread that my shoe lineup is on point and that Wooly dresses like Luke Skywalker on Hoth so I have nothing to apologize for.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Leave him alone, ya'll. You'll understand Dad fashion once you've had kids.

Sooooo true. When one of my daughters was 13, she was making fun of how I was dressed and said that I looked like I bought most of my clothes at Wal-Mart. I replied, "You're right, I do. Do you know why? So that you don't have to." Part of being a dad.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Sooooo true. When one of my daughters was 13, she was making fun of how I was dressed and said that I looked like I bought most of my clothes at Wal-Mart. I replied, "You're right, I do. Do you know why? So that you don't have to." Part of being a dad.

Nice!

 

[NDinL.A.]

Sad story, but a valuable lesson: One of my closest and oldest friends and his wife had their first child a few weeks before my first wife and I had our first child. When his daughter was a few months old she was diagnosed with a rare and fatal genetic disorder and passed away shortly after her first birthday.

Man, that is awful. It just shouldn’t happen.

My daughter, when she started eating solids, was spitting up all the time. Like, projectile spit up. She was always spitting up since she was born, so we didn’t think anything of it at first. But my wife started to become worried. It was always happen a couple of hours after she ate. We took her to several doctors, and all of them said she was just spitting up and it was normal. Mother’s intuition told her they were wrong, because Alyssa would throw up for HOURS until the bad food was out of her system.

My wife searched and searched online and finally found what it was, a rare food allergy called FPIES. My wife was devastated when she found out, because many kids with it couldn’t gain weight because they couldn’t eat most proteins. My daughter was allergic to almost everything. She ate rice, oatmeal and malt-o’meal every single meal until she was 2 and a half. Thank God she gained weight, and thank God my wife found it on time because we could have ruined her stomach forever. She has grown out of most of her allergies, except for eggs. Anything with eggs is a no-no. I fucked up badly two weeks ago and gave her spaghetti that was made with egg noodles and she threw up for 3 straight hours. It was brutal.

So yeah man, I try and soak in everything with her bc we are so incredibly lucky she’s healthy now. And I admit I screw it up sometimes by getting upset over little things, but I’ll keep your post in mind when those little things happen.

 

[ulukinatme]

Sooooo true. When one of my daughters was 13, she was making fun of how I was dressed and said that I looked like I bought most of my clothes at Wal-Mart. I replied, "You're right, I do. Do you know why? So that you don't have to." Part of being a dad.

Yup, this. Unless both you and your wife are working and making stacks of dough, every father reaches this point. "Crap, all my clothes are either falling apart or they won't fit the beer belly anymore...wife just spent $250 on summer clothes for the kids....guess I'm going to Wal-Mart."

 

[woolybug25]

Yup, this. Unless both you and your wife are working and making stacks of dough, every father reaches this point. "Crap, all my clothes are either falling apart or they won't fit the beer belly anymore...wife just spent $250 on summer clothes for the kids....guess I'm going to Wal-Mart."

For the poors.

 

[woolybug25]

Man, that is awful. It just shouldn’t happen.

My daughter, when she started eating solids, was spitting up all the time. Like, projectile spit up. She was always spitting up since she was born, so we didn’t think anything of it at first. But my wife started to become worried. It was always happen a couple of hours after she ate. We took her to several doctors, and all of them said she was just spitting up and it was normal. Mother’s intuition told her they were wrong, because Alyssa would throw up for HOURS until the bad food was out of her system.

My wife searched and searched online and finally found what it was, a rare food allergy called FPIES. My wife was devastated when she found out, because many kids with it couldn’t gain weight because they couldn’t eat most proteins. My daughter was allergic to almost everything. She ate rice, oatmeal and malt-o’meal every single meal until she was 2 and a half. Thank God she gained weight, and thank God my wife found it on time because we could have ruined her stomach forever. She has grown out of most of her allergies, except for eggs. Anything with eggs is a no-no. I fucked up badly two weeks ago and gave her spaghetti that was made with egg noodles and she threw up for 3 straight hours. It was brutal.

So yeah man, I try and soak in everything with her bc we are so incredibly lucky she’s healthy now. And I admit I screw it up sometimes by getting upset over little things, but I’ll keep your post in mind when those little things happen.

This exact same thing happened to my buddy's kid. Who is also now only allergic to eggs. Glad you caught it early.

 

[bkess8]

Man, that is awful. It just shouldn’t happen.

My daughter, when she started eating solids, was spitting up all the time. Like, projectile spit up. She was always spitting up since she was born, so we didn’t think anything of it at first. But my wife started to become worried. It was always happen a couple of hours after she ate. We took her to several doctors, and all of them said she was just spitting up and it was normal. Mother’s intuition told her they were wrong, because Alyssa would throw up for HOURS until the bad food was out of her system.

My wife searched and searched online and finally found what it was, a rare food allergy called FPIES. My wife was devastated when she found out, because many kids with it couldn’t gain weight because they couldn’t eat most proteins. My daughter was allergic to almost everything. She ate rice, oatmeal and malt-o’meal every single meal until she was 2 and a half. Thank God she gained weight, and thank God my wife found it on time because we could have ruined her stomach forever. She has grown out of most of her allergies, except for eggs. Anything with eggs is a no-no. I fucked up badly two weeks ago and gave her spaghetti that was made with egg noodles and she threw up for 3 straight hours. It was brutal.

So yeah man, I try and soak in everything with her bc we are so incredibly lucky she’s healthy now. And I admit I screw it up sometimes by getting upset over little things, but I’ll keep your post in mind when those little things happen.

My wife and I just found out my son is allergic to dogs, cats, all nuts especially peanuts, dustmites, and eggs. It was a little painful to find out that he won't be able to grow up enjoying most of the things that other kids (including myself when I was young) take for grated like having a dog and enjoying a nice PB & J. I hope that he will grow out of all of these. Overall as most of you have said that being a father is a life changing experience and I am glad that God has granted me the opportunity to take on this challenge!

Yup, this. Unless both you and your wife are working and making stacks of dough, every father reaches this point. "Crap, all my clothes are either falling apart or they won't fit the beer belly anymore...wife just spent $250 on summer clothes for the kids....guess I'm going to Wal-Mart."

My wife tells me all the time that I am picky because I can never find clothes. I for one am cheep when it comes to clothes because they don't make ugly people like me look any better and hell to be honest I don't have anyone to impress. I am blessed to wear a military uniform which does save me some money in the wallet for my kids to look spectacular all the time.

I will also add that I was raised by a mother who was divorced at a young age. I never really understood how hard it was to raise two young boys and now I could never appreciate her or thank her enough!

Keep the stories coming guys this is one of the best threads on the board!

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Hey fellas. Expecting my first next month. Baby girl. Gonna ruin me. I'm digging all of your stories and especially look forward to Wiz posting pics of him looking like a weirdo, wearing a comic book comic tee or some Disney gheyness. Luckily for him, his cute kiddo (got that from the mama, clearly) will draw attention away from his bizarre appearance.

That will be good times.

It will definitely ruin you, and it will be the best ruination you've ever experienced. Some people act like having kids is the end of your life. After you actually have one, you realize your life is just starting.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Seriously, these guys must be some boring-ass people. Half the point of going on vacation is to be able to dress cheesy AF. I don't trust a man who doesn't wear floral-print shirts every single day of his Hawaiian vacation.

We already established in another thread that my shoe lineup is on point and that Wooly dresses like Luke Skywalker on Hoth so I have nothing to apologize for.

I have no clue why, but I've always secretly desired a Hawaiian style button up shirt. I try to buy one often if we're at the mall. The GF puts the squash on that real quick. She's not a fan.

It will definitely ruin you, and it will be the best ruination you've ever experienced. Some people act like having kids is the end of your life. After you actually have one, you realize your life is just starting.

Absolutely.

 

[BabyIrish]

I don't post much, but I've got three: 5, 3, and 6 months. My 5 year old is one who likes to follow the rules but also loves all things sports.

My wife and I put our son in pre-k4 last year. We were able to go to the class christmas party. The students sat on the carpet and the teacher proceeded to hand out gifts to all the kids. She asked all the kids to wait till everyone got a present before they opened them. There was about 2 kids left to receive their presents and the rest of the students started to open their present.

Not my son, he didn't want to break the rules. Once the final students get their presents, the teacher has them go back to the seat. On the table is another present for the students. My son brings the unopened present to the table. We encourage him to open it. The teacher right at the time he starts to open the present, says "Don't open the present till everyone sits down and I tell you it's okay." So he doesn't open the present. Lol I felt so bad for him.

Spoiler: He eventually opened the presents

 

[ulukinatme]

This picture cracks me up, dude! It looks like he's saying "This is MY ride!" There's a smug confidence here, it's awesome. All great pics.

Glad they were able to diagnose that food allergy. With my son being Autistic he often has stomach and bowel problems. He's got the runs daily, and at least once a week he experiences stomach discomfort or pain. It's been a real challenge trying to figure out what he can and can't eat, because he can't tell us how he feels. Even worse is finding foods he WILL eat, he can be super picky and you can't force him to eat anything.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Hey fellas. Expecting my first next month. Baby girl. Gonna ruin me. I'm digging all of your stories and especially look forward to Wiz posting pics of him looking like a weirdo, wearing a comic book comic tee or some Disney gheyness. Luckily for him, his cute kiddo (got that from the mama, clearly) will draw attention away from his bizarre appearance.

That will be good times.

She will. Our little girl is just over a year and something is broken inside me.

She's army crawling all over the house, loves the dogs, and wiggles whenever anything musical is on. She's one of the most interesting people I have ever known.

 

[Circa]

I don't post much, but I've got three: 5, 3, and 6 months. My 5 year old is one who likes to follow the rules but also loves all things sports.

My wife and I put our son in pre-k4 last year. We were able to go to the class christmas party. The students sat on the carpet and the teacher proceeded to hand out gifts to all the kids. She asked all the kids to wait till everyone got a present before they opened them. There was about 2 kids left to receive their presents and the rest of the students started to open their present.

Not my son, he didn't want to break the rules. Once the final students get their presents, the teacher has them go back to the seat. On the table is another present for the students. My son brings the unopened present to the table. We encourage him to open it. The teacher right at the time he starts to open the present, says "Don't open the present till everyone sits down and I tell you it's okay." So he doesn't open the present. Lol I felt so bad for him.



Spoiler: He eventually opened the presents

Nothing worse than a teacher who has the power trip in her. I would have asked her If her presents were opened that way and if she has the patience to listen to me tell her my opinion of her.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

I'm the proud dad of 3 boys ages 4, 2, and almost 11 months. My oldest can sing the ND fight song and my middle one can hum it and sing a few lines. They hate Penn St. too! They boo them when the name is said and I love it!

 

[wizards8507]

LA's picture reminded me of this one.

Fun at the beach.

I have no clue why, but I've always secretly desired a Hawaiian style button up shirt. I try to buy one often if we're at the mall. The GF puts the squash on that real quick. She's not a fan.

Absolutely.

You gotta get it in actual Hawaii. I have a few cotton ones and a really nice silk one.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Father of 4. Moved my second oldest into Notre Dame this weekend to start his first year. To say I'm a proud Dad is a great understatement.

 

[ulukinatme]

Repped out again. Gratz on your kid getting into ND, ab2cmiller!

I'll tell another slightly funny story. 4th of July weekend we were staying at my grandparents cottage. Several houses down there's a loud, boisterous guy that my grandparents call "they mayor." He's the kind that knows everybody, knows everything, and is always just dropping by to see what's going on. He also happens to be a Michigan fan, but he's friendly with my grandparents. Much to his chagrin, his daughter married an ND grad, and now she and all the grandkids are Irish fans. None of that really has anything to do with my story, I just enjoy it.

Anyway, we were going on a little golf cart ride with my daughter and the mayor stopped us by his house to say hi. Now, we've always stressed to our daughter that she first has to go to college in life, then get married, THEN have babies. Well, the mayor's grandson came up to my daughter and just started smooching her out of no where. He's not even 3 and she's 5, so it wasn't really a big deal, but my daughter was NOT happy afterwards. After we left we asked why she was in such a bad mood, "I don't like that boy at all! Why did he kiss me? Mommy is going to be so mad....I'm not ready to get married!"

 

[IrishLion]

My little guy was intrigued when I told him that football starts soon:

But this is him when he discovered what the NFL preseason is all about:

Here he is trying to enter his first boxing match in his robe:

Here he is getting all artsy with my ND stuff:

Here he is doing more artsy things, cuddling with his namesake as IrishLion Cub:

Aaaaaaand two more for overkill:

 

[mango4]

Was at a wedding tonight and my kid was ready to go home so I told him that we needed to say good bye to some people first. He turned around to a random table and said good bye people and then looked at me like let's go.

He also told me to stop playing the banjo on the way home. I was driving.

 

[ulukinatme]

Was at a wedding tonight and my kid was ready to go home so I told him that we needed to say good bye to some people first. He turned around to a random table and said good bye people and then looked at me like let's go.

He also told me to stop playing the banjo on the way home. I was driving.

Were you listening to bluegrass or something, or was he just really tired?

My kids hate the goodbyes too.

 

[mango4]

Were you listening to bluegrass or something, or was he just really tired?

My kids hate the goodbyes too.

Pretty sure we were listening to the Twins get destroyed by Kansas City. He was really tired so I'm guessing that was it, it was just so random.

 

[ulukinatme]

Kids say some of the best stuff when they're tired. That, or they just get really, really whiny.

 

[Legacy]

Best Thread Ever

Best Thread Ever

Congrats! Your comments are very inspiring and show your selflessness and love.

I'd like to contribute by telling you about someone I have gotten to know. He went to college on the East Coast, met his wife there, and got his degree in chemical engineering, possibly an advanced degree, too. After a move to the middle of the country, he and another man started a company, filed a few patents, and were successful in selling it, though he lost the patent rights through some legal maneuvers. They invested in real estate with a number of rental apartments that they maintain. Two sons. He'd take his oldest along at times when he went to make repairs or prepare the apartment for a new renter, teaching him. That son is now a dentist. The value of education has always been stressed in their family. Their last move was to home with an acre of land where he planted a number of fruit trees, built a play house for his sons - though they preferred Play Station - and embarked on bee keeping. The second son is about to go to college. His wife has finished law school and is a practicing lawyer. He is now utilizing his skills and interests in teaching math skills at a community college to an underserved population, which presents challenges in engaging some and teaching math that they should have learned prior. He is continually surprised at regulations that working for the federal government entails. His students have chosen him Teacher of the Year. Family, education and religion are paramount.

Seeing both sides of the family has involved travel for the family - back to the East Coast for hers and to Iran for his. But the importance of his sons knowing their grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, the culture, imparting a sense of place, knowing their roots, and their religion in a much different part of the world. He rarely travels alone, though he has when his mother died and his elderly father was ill. He is the oldest in the family with the Iranian tradition of responsibility to the family. In the fifteen to twenty years they have been returning, they've accepted there will be a delay in immigration as he gets pulled out for extensive questioning each time. Post- 9/11, this is longer and more pointed often requiring an overnight stay in Europe. They accept that, for a while after a travel, there will be a delay of significance before a phone call connects with them. He should be very proud of how his sons have grown up. I attribute so much of that growth to his attentiveness and the values they impart. Of primary importance to him has always been - and which he has taught them - to respect others. In these and other ways he is a great Dad.

An excerpt from a link I posted in the Immigration thread reminded me of him:

This time, too, there is ample evidence that immigrants are creating businesses and revitalizing the U.S. workforce. From 2006 to 2012, more than two-fifths of the start-up tech companies in Silicon Valley had at least one foreign-born founder, according to the Kauffman Foundation. A report by the Partnership for a New American Economy, which advocates for immigrants in the U.S. workforce, found that they accounted for 28 percent of all new small businesses in 2011.

Immigrants also hold a third of the internationally valid patents issued to U.S. residents, according to University of California (Davis) economist Giovanni Peri. In a 2012 article published by the Cato Institute, the libertarian (and pro-immigration) think tank, Peri concluded that immigrants boost economic productivity and don’t have a notable impact—either positive or negative—on net job growth for U.S.-born workers. One reason: Immigrants and native-born workers gravitate toward different jobs.

Why American Cities Are Fighting to Attract Immigrants

 

[ulukinatme]

Hey fellas. Expecting my first next month. Baby girl. Gonna ruin me. I'm digging all of your stories and especially look forward to Wiz posting pics of him looking like a weirdo, wearing a comic book comic tee or some Disney gheyness. Luckily for him, his cute kiddo (got that from the mama, clearly) will draw attention away from his bizarre appearance.

That will be good times.

She won't ruin ya. Well...short term she could Long term she will only enrich your life. I remember when my daughter was very young, just a few months old. I was working 3rd shift all the time. I'd have a crappy night and come home, sitting on the couch and trying to decompress. My wife would come downstairs holding my daughter, and her little face would light up when she'd see me. "Da-da!" At that moment, all was right in the world, I was good again.

She's older now, and she's still happy when she sees me...but at 5 she's already getting emotional and can be dramatic. Bed time has become a debate, and if I put my foot down and send her to bed the water-works come out. This isn't the whiny, wailing "I want to stay up cause I want to" kind of stuff that toddlers all do, this is the "You hurt my feelings" kind of little girl drama tears. Not enjoying that phase, but I can't harden my heart when I have to, the Mrs. can't...she cracks. Still, I'm not sure which is worse...dealing with little girl drama, or dealing with destructive boys. One can empty your pocket book, the other empties your patience.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Just found the thread. Father of boys 35 and 33, girls 22 and 20, girls 14 and 12, and a boy 10.

6 Grandkids; G14, G11, G5, G3, G2 and B2.

No great grandkids any time soon.

 

[GEORGIA DOMER]

Watched my 6 year old Gracie aka graceface aka monkey call her best friend on the house phone yesterday. They tried real hard to carry on a conversation for 5 minutes. Gracie insists she has bad service. They also tried to make plans for Labor Day. Then both decided they didn't know what Labor Day was. The oldest Haley got her divers license yesterday and drove herself to work. That's tough to watch drive away. Full dad day!

 

[ulukinatme]

Good stuff, Georgia!

My daughter had her first soccer game yesterday. She's kinda shy, so she doesn't really have the spirit to mix it up and chase after the ball, she kind of just stands there or kind of follows behind the pack. Knowing this, and the fact coach had her in at goalie quite a bit at practice, we worked on her goalie skills last week....and she's pretty good! During the game she got to see the field a lot, but no time in the goal. Every other kid got to be goalie twice. I think part of the problem is the coach doesn't know any of the kid's names. In a soccer dad moment all I could think was "Why is he keeping her on the field, she's too shy to mix it up with the others. Put her in at goalie!" I didn't say anything yet, but I'm thinking of bringing it up in the next game if she's not in there by halftime.

Anyone else ever have to make suggestions to a coach, or am I being pushy and overly soccer dad-ish? These are 5 year olds we're talking about, so everyone plays...to a point where sometimes they call the games early because they can't keep enough kids on the field (boredom, tears, whatever)