I Guest Blog While Wearing A Peach-Head

A fellow blogger and friend “Being Peachy” is apparently AWOL. We’re not quite sure where she is or when she’ll be back. So, the lovely and talented animation queen JC Little of Little Animation and her blog The Animated Woman, convinced me to get dressed up as peaches and guest post for her.

So, go on….check out JC and me as we don our peach-heads and try to figure out where-in-the-hell the Peach is. Click here to see the guest post!

One Year And Counting!

I’m still blown away by the fact that today is my blog’s first birthday.

To you…well, you’re probably twirling your finger in the air and rolling your eyes. At least my wife is.

Regardless, for me it’s a big deal.

I started this space of my ramblings in an effort to get my fingers pounding on the keyboard some more and to tap back into one of my absolute loves…..writing.

Pairing that up with my other devoted love – my family – seemed a win/win.

The only thing left was a good name. So, I did what any natural artist does and sucked back a few too many beers and chased them down with glasses of wine and walla!!!! The name Why Is Daddy Crying? was born.

Then I just sat back, lived my life and let the rest flow through the finger tips in the hopes just maybe a few of you kids would care enough to read.

The response I’ve gotten has been overwhelming at best. My readership is unreal to me. The comments I get make my day. The emails I randomly get from strangers humbles me. And the explosion of my Twitter and Facebook followers is daunting.

THANKS! Thanks for reading, making me laugh, sharing your stories, and for revealing the fact that it truly does take a village to raise a child. Even if that child is me.

But an anniversary wouldn’t be a true anniversary if I didn’t reflect. So…here are my top 10 favorite blog posts of mine over the past year. I really hope you’ll take a couple minutes and read and pass along to others who might enjoy them.

My top 10 favorite blog posts over the past year:

1) Because of this post alone, I’m notorious for hating the damn Snuggie. And I followed it up with this lovely post about a Snuggie family gone wrong.

2) The BP oil spill got me angry, but also had me wondering if I could offer any help. So, I lent a hand by creating this list of the top 10 things BP should shove up its leaky oil pipe.

3) Sometimes I like to give some handy advice. So, I created a commercial much like the drug commercials on TV so that I could inform parents how they know they’re experiencing children.

4) I would totally and utterly suck as a terrorist and here are the reasons why. This one’s complete with a horrifying picture.

5) I have had many discussions with wife over the past year. On this particular day we discuss pointy bras.

6) I’ve gotten to meet, interact with, and fight with some of the greatest people. Take in this epic online one-liner battle with Twitter's @ieatmykidzsnack:

7) One of the most humbling moments of my writing days was when JC Little of Little Animation reached out and did this animated short based on my blog. Check it out!

8) Here’s a quick jaunt down memory lane as I remember the days I’ve spent with my weiner.

9) And then for a little bit I got serious. This post marks the beginnings of one of the lowest points in my life where I lost my job.

10) And last, here’s a post where I show some family love to my brother by revealing how much I love that he affectionately calls his children “fuck trophies.”

I’m missing oh so much more, but these are some of my favorites.

Thanks for the ride so far. I hope everyone keeps reading and sharing the love!



What's In The BOX?!!

A few weeks ago the talented and amazing animator JC Little (@LittleAnimation on Twitter), dropped a kick-ass animation based on this blog. You can see it here!

Yeah, I was blown away by not only her skill, but the fact she took the time to create such an amazing film.

But at the end, she did kind of leave us hanging. I mean, it was sweet. The kids and wifey gave me breakfast in bed and a gift, but damn it!!! I want to know what’s in the box??!!!

She must have been reading my mind because JC created a follow-up to the film. But she’s been dragging it out over the past week-and-a-half in her “Be Afraid” series, teasing this brother on her blog.

But today, she put us out of our misery and launched the answer to the burning question, “What’s in the Box?”

Yeah!! A snuggie!! Thanks JC….thanks for making me a star in my worst nightmare.

If you didn’t already know, I HATE the Snuggie. See!!

Well…now you know what’s in the box. As for me…I’m going to collapse in a quiet corner and cry myself to sleep now that I’ve seen my animated self sheathed in a pink nightmare of cock-blockness.

Now go check out JC’s blog and see what she’s saying about “What’s in the BOX?”!!

She's a Winner!!!

We have a winner to my contest launched last week which asked readers to answer the question “why is daddy crying?” This contest was motivated by the new 3-minute animated short based on this blog, created by JC Little with Little Animation. If you haven’t seen it – check it out here.

Our world class judges from Twitter: @IEatMyKidzSnack, @Tessasdad, and @nuckingfutsmama worked hard to pick our winner, pouring over 30 submissions from around the globe.

And the winner is!!!! Cortney Allen, or (@Ulesss on Twitter.)

Her winning response:

“Daddy isn't crying because he is frustrated. Or overworked. Or undersexed. Not because he has to wipe noses and wipe asses. Not because he got kicked in the nuts accidentally by a tantrum throwing kid. Not because the messes and arguments never end, and the quiet time is all too little. He isn't crying about the amount of sleep he gets, or doesn't get. And he is definitely not crying because he just can't get the last word in "I fantasize" battles, no matter how hard he tries.

He IS crying because the little joys of being a Dad sometimes overwhelm the manly exterior, and a sincere "you're the best, Daddy" is too much to take. He's crying at the wealth of pride he feels when one of the little fuckers learns a life lesson, gets an awesome grade, or crosses the finish line. He's crying because he and the toddler have the same dancing skills, or hold a pencil the same way, or have the same smile. He's crying because of the indescribable joy of having kids.

At least that's why the Daddy in our house is crying. And that's precisely the reason Daddy SHOULD be crying.”

And now…let’s get to know Ms. Allen with a quick Q&A!

In 140 characters or less, describe yourself to us!

I am first and foremost, a BIG nerd. A lover of music, art, debate and food. Especially food. My kids are my world, and I love meeting people.

Have you or have you not ever considered being a glove model, and why?

As a surgical tech., I modeled many medical gloves. But unless there is a short and stubby finger glove niche, I'm out of luck.

So why the Twitter name @Uless

Haha, great question. Let us rewind to December of 1983. My parents were so overjoyed at the birth of their baby girl, that they didn't notice they spelled my name Cortney, not Courtney, on the birth certificate form. Well, either that or they were just being mean. At my last job, there was a Courtney working there already. It became confusing in the OR one day, so one of the anesthesiologists decided that because I had no U in my name, he would refer to me as "uless". It kind of stuck. 

Yesterday when I was all alone I had a hankering for some potato chips. So, I busted out a small bag of potato skins and freakin’ plowed through them. They were sooo freakin’ good. Especially with the 24 oz beer I enjoyed with it. Oh…and of course, I had no pants on.

Not sure how to respond to the potato skin story, other than I had a very similar experience with a bag of Oreos at 2 am last Friday night. 

When your first born finished entering the world, what was your first thought/words?

Honestly? I would love to say that my first thought was how much I instantly fell in love with my baby, or something else sentimental. That would be a close second. I think my first real thought was, holy crap, that was way harder than I thought it would be. Someone get me some drugs!

Name one thing you’d shove up BP’s leaky oil pipe to shut it the hell down?

I knew the answer to this instantly. If we could shove Glenn Beck in the leaky oil pipe, we could not only rid the Gulf of the oil pollution, but the world of a lot of noise pollution as well!

And what does this young rock star win? She wins a hand-crafted, hand-picked, amazingly phenomenal care package created by JC Little of Little Animation and myself. And, I promise to send some of my dirty underwear.

What’s in the “phenomenal” care package?

• Little Animation’s children’s animation 2 DVD’s “Kid Stories International” & “Little Earth Charter” found at www.littleanimation.com/shop
• Gift certificate to Toys R Us
• A “Planet Earth” baby onsie – super comfort, 100% cotton jersey knit from Little Animation’s www.cafepress.com/littleanimation shop.  
• Picture of me when I was 20 wearing no shirt and holding three Amber Jack I caught on a deep-sea fishing trip.
• An opportunity to exclusively babysit my kids every weekend for an entire year
• Dick’s Sporting Goods gift certificate
• Dot & Lil ( @DotandLil on Twitter) limited edition Spring & Summer 2010 bath set seen here:



The Launch & Discussion of Why Is Daddy Crying – the film

Just a mere few days before the hallowed holiday of Father’s Day, my dear friend JC Little (AKA @LittleAnimation on Twitter) and I are pleased to launch the highly anticipated 3-minute animated short based on this blog. I hope you all enjoy it and happy Father’s Day world!!

As we launch it, JC Little and I have a quick discussion.

Me: So, I wish we could do this over a few bottles of wine with cameras rolling like a professional DVD extra interview. But, we’re stuck to a conversation via my blog.

I can’t even begin to thank you for creating such an amazing animated short inspired by my insane family. And we’re launching it today!!

So, let’s take a quick gander back in time and talk about what brought us together. I believe it was the hatred for the Snuggie that made our paths cross...

JC: Actually I was new on Twitter and I did an #FF on a Thursday. You caught me!

After that I found your anti-Snuggies blog post and we tried really hard to make #sayNOtoSnuggies trend. We almost succeeded too. Remember how you over-tweeted and got booted off Twitter? You left me holding the baby - me - a Twitter newbie! That was SO FUN. Met a lot of cool tweeps that night.

Me: It wasn't fun..it was frustrating!!! We were rocking the #sayNOtoSnuggies and then...I was gone. Shunned from Twitter.

So, I'll never forget when you DM'd me and said, "I wanna do an animation based on your blog."
I immediately said, "that's so awesome…but I can't pay you." Then you said you would do it pro-bono.

So I want to hear it from you....tell me about the making of this kick-ass film!!

JC: WHAT??? I never said I'd do it for FREE??? ARE YOU CRAZIE MAN!!!!???

I'm kidding of course! You can keep your first born. Hah. You've already made me laugh so much with your crazy blog, I consider it already bought and paid for. I can't resist a good story, and you inspired me. I decided it was a film that needed to be made.

Me: So tell me a couple good tidbits from your experience making this animated short? Like your brother screaming his head off for hours!

JC: My brother? Oh yeah, well I obviously needed to cast someone to do the voice of the crying daddy. I remembered how I used to make my brother scream when we were kids, heheh.

He actually never did any voice work before, but he did an amazing job when we went into the studio. He responded really well to direction too. The voice work came out so well, I had trouble deciding which takes to use - they were all so funny. And he's about to have his first baby, so now he's got a head start on the crying.

Me: I think you captured the look and attitudes of my family absolutely perfectly. My kids love it. The wife laughs every time, and her favorite part is that you made her about a foot taller than she really is!

JC:  Hey, it's a challenge to make stick figures look like people you never met!  It was great to have their feedback throughout the process, from script through storyboard and animation. Especially the kids.

Do you think your character looks like you?

Me: I think it does…except you did miss the incredibly huge ears I have, the gap in my front teeth, and the fact that I randomly break out into the robot. Other than that it was brilliant! The entire film is brilliant…from beginning to end.

I can’t thank you enough for sharing such a great experience with me. I can’t wait to see what people think!

JC: Me too! I hope it makes them laugh and touches them enough to want to share it with their dads. It's a great Father’s Day gift no? Thanks for the chance to talk about the 'making of' with you; I gotta go animate you doing the robot now ;-D

Me: Oh, I’d love to see that! Oh…and we should be sure and leave the proper cliff-hanger before signing off! There is an alternate ending to this animated short masterpiece. Stay tuned!!! My dear friend JC is going to bless us all with that in the coming week or two!

Enjoy the film!