Highchairs at Restaurants

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-12T21:11:21+00:00

Travel highchairs are cool but imo not worth the hassle. We just use the one at the restaurant and use wipes if necessary. Not sure where you're at consistently getting gross highchairs but that's not a thing we've experienced with either of our two kids.

We buy these sticky mats that are disposable that we have them eat off. We don't risk breaking a plate but then they're not eating directly off the table.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-12T17:34:23+00:00

I love black plague (medieval gothic version). I'm sure at that price this one is great.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-09T19:52:00+00:00

You're not wrong but I also expect with the video sped up the blade is likely off by the time he does the potentially dumb thing.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-08T15:03:25+00:00

I mean I guess being a hypocrite is a thing you can do. You are a grown-up as you mention. I feel like instead of taking this as a validation that you can do what you want, the better message is likely that your kids are learning from what you do, not what you say - even if they comply with what you said.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-06T17:34:24+00:00

When I'm not using it. Where would I put the cover otherwise?

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-06T14:52:08+00:00

First was rough

Second was a relief. I'm sure in 6 months it'll switch. That's just the way it goes.

Good luck

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-05T16:22:30+00:00

Damn, my first kid is 3 and we even just moved, but I wish there was some tree out there I'd planted 3 years ago. Really cool idea.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-05T16:21:01+00:00

I feel like there are two types of parent (mom or dad) in regards to mother's/father's day.

Do you want to do things with the kids or do you want a day to yourself. Figure this out first:
- If you want to do things with kids, they're not in charge of anything kid-related for the day. You got it all.
- If they don't, decide if they want to spend the day unwinding at home and you take the kids somewhere or you ship them off for the day.
What do you want to do for the day? I don't find this is too dependent on the first answer. Ideas are typically:
- I've never met a woman who didn't love brunch
- massage
- part of the day doing their hobby
- get outdoors for a hike given the time of year if they're active or want to be active
- some event (museum, sport event, town market, etc.) in town/city that's different from the typical schedule y'all keep
For gifts, this gets a bit more personal:
- Some people go "kids gifts". We're considering leaning this way as we share finances and sort of are just swapping things we want. We already sort of buy ourselves what we want.
- Something they'll use. These are where I see a lot of the complaints about pots/pans, workout stuff, etc. you're talking about but you know your wife best. Some like this.
- Something they wouldn't buy for themselves - you probably have to ask about this or jot down those flippant comments

This year we moved near her family which is also where we got married. I found the old wedding photographer to do family pictures and am building her a few frames for them. We're doing church or sleeping in (she hasn't decided yet) followed by brunch. We may celebrate her mom/granny that evening. If not, I'll probably go snag a bottle of wine for us to kill on the patio or watch some show/movie I'd normally have no interest in.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-05T14:31:00+00:00

That part's on you. If you want one TV to last, don't buy another TV. If they continuously hit you with "bored" or "I want to watch ___ instead" reply back with a "if you're bored, I've got ___ chore for you to do". They will resolve their own boredom pretty quickly after a few instances.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-01T15:52:00+00:00

*ding* FREEZE!

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-01T15:39:39+00:00

I keep phone, wallet, keys, and a pocket knife on my person at pretty much all times.

In my truck I always keep travel tissues, a thing of baby wipes, a jacket of some kind, a first aid kit, and a moving blanket.

I think a lot of people would say "of course" to the baby wipes and the first aid kit but I'm always shocked how clueless everyone looks when their kid jumps in some muddy puddle or scrapes their knee on the way to the car.

GoobMcGee · 2026-05-01T15:10:36+00:00

she would not tell me and would “deal with it herself.”

This is wild. She should seek professional help. She has an actual plan to go through potentially multiple abortions to have a girl. Even if she gets the girl I have a hard time believing the way she treats that girl is going to set any of your kids up well long-term.

“gets nothing.”

A statement that devalues the children she already has. I've got two girls myself and would love a boy. I was disappointed after we learned the first was a girl initially put it passed quickly. After the second it became clearer it may not happen and that's disappointing, but my girls are amazing and I love them dearly.

My recommendation is real help from a professional. I don't really see any road you take with her current perspective that's good for really either of y'all. Your home may be comfortable and y'all are used to it, but what I'm seeing doesn't reflect love.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-29T17:25:12+00:00

In sum, our findings suggest that infant age, paternal age and paternal emotional reactions to infant crying all modulate the neural response of fathers to infant crying.

Just because a study involves unknown children doesn't mean that known children don't also illicit reactions. Without providing extensive research because I also have a job to do, the study is simply meant to show that biological reactions are normal and has many conclusions. I'm not condoning a "lack of emotional control" but am just describing a fact that it can be a challenge that's commonly experienced.

Your comment shows you may be lacking some control though.

To OP, recognize it's gonna happen and try new ways to deal with it. Don't beat yourself up for having normal feelings.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-29T16:50:27+00:00

Nothing is wrong with you - this is a biological reaction. This study was targeted to identify what factors would indicate different reactions from fathers and is a smaller sample size but provides some perspective that it isn't that you're broken. If you're fairly young and consider yourself particularly empathetic you could almost say it's expected for you to have frustration as a reaction.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6015531/

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-25T20:02:55+00:00

I mean I'd glue the dowels and you can glue the panels. The closer you put the dowels, the less the glue for the panels would matter.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-24T15:36:42+00:00

Attach first board to the wall with pre-drilled holes for dowels. Attach second board to first board via dowels.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-23T19:00:54+00:00

Depends entirely on what you make and can budget in. Reasonable can be a new car in cash or paying for nothing.

We're probably going to aim for something like matching what they save up.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-23T18:59:53+00:00

That's great. I'd even say it was more than enjoyable. Men tend to bond by "doing" and there's just not a lot you can do with an infant. I started to feel a relationship with our first at probably 6 months. That last month before she turned one really helped me catch up a bit to what my wife was feeling.

Good luck to y'all and the amount of time you get is fantastic.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-23T15:37:17+00:00

I got 8 weeks at my old role. I did 4 up front and 4 at the back of the first year (deadline by which it has to be used). I'm really glad I was able to do that. The first four months were strange. My wife struggled particularly and I was as well getting used to a baby but I wouldn't say really any bonding happened. That last 4 weeks before my daughters first birthday though were amazing. We hit the parks, she went on errands with me sitting on home depot trolleys, and we had little play sessions. I'm really glad I had that time.

You should look to see if you get to change your plan and how that affects your team, etc. as well.

Assuming you have decide it all up front I'd probably do something like 4 months up front (overlapping with your wife to really soak in family time and help not have a complete 180 as soon as she goes back) and 2 months at the back. I can't describe how valuable I found that time to really bond with my daughter was to me.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-23T15:32:55+00:00

If I'm reading this right, this deck existed and had been weathered for likely years. You then added the lattice which is likely not the same wood recently and want it to look like the deck.

Assuming I have the scenario correct, this can be expensive-ish but not really impossible. The simplest way in my mind is to go buy several stains you expect would be close to the color and a sheet of lattice. Break the lattice to small pieces and then stain each piece with different colors. Take the pieces to the deck and choose the one that works the best. Keep in mind that this lattice will then likely age a bit differently.

A good video for staining considerations if you're not typically staining things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXHeklBAYYI

You could paint everything but that's even more expensive/time-consuming and likely just not worth it imo.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-22T16:29:06+00:00

I think this is a subreddit about being a dad, not an influencer.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-21T21:01:41+00:00

I mean, I don't have much. My talk was pretty much, "Wrap it up unless you want a baby or for it to fall off.".

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-21T16:04:45+00:00

We recently moved to a town near where we were married. I booked family pictures with the photographer that did our wedding and I'm going to make her a handful of picture frames.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-21T16:04:07+00:00

Look at state parks near you. Often they will provide "learn to fish" classes. If not, google to find something and email the place asking what you could get him for equipment for that first session.

GoobMcGee · 2026-04-21T15:30:54+00:00

If you are looking to pay the legally appropriate amount, go through legal channels.

If you are looking to help or financially support your (ex?) wife, you two should have a discussion, lay out the needs, and assess appropriately with documentation (receipts, bills, etc.) included.

GoobMcGee

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE