You only get one chance at a fourth birthday party and when it’s for your little girl and she’s picked ‘rainbow unicorn’ as the theme, you’ve got to go all in. I baked two dozen rainbow cupcakes in a process…
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Rainbow! Unicorns! Rainbow Unicorns!
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: birthday party, birthdays, child harbat, cupcakes, parenting, rainbows, unicorns
I am the Best Mediocre Father
Today my daughter turns four. Yes, now we are four, and all that. She has celebrated by maintaining a level of excitement reserved for nuclear technicians who are running between flashing alert bulbs on panelboards and notice that all the…
The Magical Smell of Bread
Something in the electrical static of my brain produced the smell of freshly-baked bread. This isn’t unusual, considering I bake three or four loaves of bread a week, but this was an olfactory memory of the yeasted white sandwich bread…
What to Do During Quiet Time
If naps are becoming a thing of the past, Quiet Time is taking its place in our household. Though Child Harbat might think she doesn’t need it, she doesn’t realize that WE need it. Often about twenty minutes into quiet…
Living a Moral Life
I was raised to think for myself. Novel idea, right? I was not indoctrinated, brainwashed, or pushed into a moral or religious model but instead left to find something for myself. After all, the most valuable treasure is that which…
Number Two
There’s a second Harbat on the way, and coming soon, mid-November to be exact. Funny how the second time around you’re much more relaxed. It’s like final exams in high school—as a freshman you’re sweating it out and planning your…
The Misery of Parenting
Sometimes you work hard trying to do the right thing and you get kicked in the balls anyway. This weekend I was reminded that parenting is often about the ship of good intentions getting dragged over the reef of reality.…
Photography From Knee-Level
Child Harbat has learned to use our camera. I’m not surprised—after five minutes with my wife’s iPhone, CH was deleting apps and getting new ones she liked. Now when I download pictures from the camera I find, scattered among my…
The Old Things Really Are Best
In this world of 3D movies, motion-capture video games, and tablet computers, it’s nice to know that kids still love the basics. This weekend we went to a local health fair. Imagine stands hawking the benefits of brushing and flossing…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: child harbat, face painting, health fair, hello kitty, jumping, ponies
My Own 9/11
With the hubbub of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 over I’ve had time to reflect on what this day means to me. Like the pixels on a dragonfly’s eye we all have a slightly different perspective, and mine is not…
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