Marvyn+Mary

A little spring weather in the middle of February. Forget work. Forget school. Enjoy your weekend! More pics after the jump.

Heaven is for Real is a true story about a boy named Colton Burpo, who at 4 years old, had a near death experience. Well, you could technically say he did die for 3 minutes. Colton was brought to the hospital after complaining of stomach pains and constant vomiting. The first visit to the hospital diagnosed it as stomach flu. It turned out though that Colton's appendix had burst and had an abscess. He was in really bad shape because he had this in his system for 5 days! After surgery, they thought they were in the clear but as Colton and his parents stepped into the elevator, the doctor had stopped them because the blood work revealed that there were 2 more abscesses. With the condition Colton was in there was little hope that he would survive. His parents, Todd, a pastor, and Sonja, had asked for prayers from their congregation. The next day, it seemed like a miracle had happened. Colton was sitting up, playing like a normal 4 year old. Doctors and nurses could not believe it. To the Burpo's, it seemed like their prayers were answered.

New high chair, new food, same ol’ J-Bear. I woke up extra early for this, so enjoy.

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Several months ago I was contacted by Lauren Passell of Parenting.com with a few questions about mommies, daddies, blogging, and thoughts on an article. I thought it was innocent at the time, but after visiting the Parenting.com forums, I think there was more to it than expected. I hate to conspire, but I wonder if the reason I was approached by Parenting was not because they were looking for a daddy's perspective on things, but perhaps it was a mask to hide the real question Parenting wanted to answer: Is the article, Mad at Dad, fair? Well Parenting, according to the 8 page thread and the 3 page followup, I'd say you've angered a couple fathers out there. More after the jump...

I’ve been browsing through the Craigslist classifieds and found some really great deals on a few baby items, but I shudder the thought of ever putting my child near these used items. For example, Similac Advance Infant Formula 12.9oz costs $13.99 at Babies R Us. It can be found on Craigslist for as low as $7. I wouldn’t mind saving money, but I reluctant to trust formula from a stranger.

How about a Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat? These sell for anywhere between $100-$150 depending on the model at Babies R Us. Somebody is selling it for $60. I can’t imagine how much spit up, pee, and poop have found its way onto it. No thanks.…

MarvynAndMary.com was mentioned on Parenting.com by Lauren, a well known blogger with Parenting. She was doing some research about daddy blogging and who better to ask than me? Follow the link to read the full interview.

I am happy to report that I have survived the first week of being a daddy. Although I do have a few battle scars: burnt hands, dry gagging (something I do from lack of sleep), a house that looks likes Babies R Us' stockroom, and a broken dryer. More after the jump...

On February 6, 2009 baby Jagger says hello at 8lbs 1.5 oz, 21″…

You're sitting in on the train and there is an elderly and a pregnant woman. Who do you give your seat to? If you give it to the elderly, most likely the person will extend that courtesy and offer it to the pregnant woman. I believe that pregnancy trumps all in terms of courtesy–let them have the last seat, let them eat before the crowd, let them jump the line in the ladies' room...But what happens when you group a large number of pregnant women together? Courtesy goes out the window and now you have a bunch of spoiled women with "me-first" syndrome. More after the the click.

Some months ago, I glanced at a random toy list and this rubber toy named Sophie Giraffe sat atop of the contenders. I didn't pay much attention to it then and haven't thought much of it until Mary read about it in a baby magazine last week. And a few days ago, Sarah at Parenting gave it glowing remarks. Seems that this little animal keeps coming up. Following my sports law professor's rule of thumb, "An idiot can have an opinion. Two idiots can share an opinion. But if three people are saying the same thing, then consider it expert advice." More after the jump...

Have you been naughty or nice this year? If you've been listening too much to the little red guy on your shoulder, then you better hope that the elf wasn't watching you. "Who?", you ask. On the radio this morning a local talk show mentioned this stuffed elf doll conveniently named Elf on the Shelf. The idea, in all it's simplicity is to leave the elf...on the shelf.

"Why?", you ask.

To scare of course! Tell your child the elf reports directly to Santa. So if he sees you doing anything bad, Santa will know. That means no more red tricycle, no more Barbie doll, no more Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time. All because the elf Judased you. Simple right? Is this an innovative idea? Or just the start of your kid's psychotherapy?

For the past few days, I have considered following the yellow brick road towards clothe diapers. And why not when it saves you a considerable amount of money compared to disposables. When I suggested this to Mary she gave me the eww face, the same face everybody makes when seeing two girls and a cup for the first time. Thoughts after the jump...(Regarding clothe diapers, not two girls and a cup)

I know one day when Jagger is taking a bath, he's going to discover the little appendage between his legs. He may poke, pull, touch it many times out of curiosity, but now I'm going to have to provide a child safe name for it. Every family has their own little name. What was yours? More after the jump...

My niece grew up watching my mom's collection of clamshell Disney movies. While this is great for my niece, I'm not so sure I would want my boy to watch any female oriented animated movies. Case in point, my cousin knows the words to Chef Louie's song in the Little Mermaid as he was shockingly exposed during one of our Scene It marathons. Not exactly something that every red blooded male American father wants for his pride and joy. More after the jump.