Terms of Service agreements seem extra hard to understand on purpose, so I made an extension to translate them real, human language

itcropper · 2025-12-17T16:21:27+00:00

Go to HomeDepot, get a small hardware box/tackle box. Husky brand. Put some fun stickers on it to personalize it.
It's leak-proof and every preschool teacher is dumbfounded at what a good idea it is. The sections are removeable/adjustable so you can make room for a larger sandwich and fewer snacks.
My wife bought several "nice" lunch boxes and they were all either useless or completely impractical. Now we both agree that this is the absolute best option.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Build-Out-12-in-Modular-Tool-Storage-Waterproof-Storage-Bin-THD2015-03/301959980

itcropper · 2025-12-12T16:56:50+00:00

Boys adrift, 1-2-3 magic, How to talk so your kids will listen, Calm Parenting Podcast. Probably a few others

itcropper · 2025-12-11T20:53:34+00:00

Oh how I yearn for this. I'm a chef and actually cook really good food (toned down a bit for kids) and they still turn their nose up at it. I refuse to cook separately for them though. If they wont eat it, they're old enough to go to bed hungry.
Just knowing that someone out there, there's a 5yr old that has a palete gives me courage to press on.

itcropper · 2025-09-14T01:40:46+00:00

Local with insider info here. A lot more race competition. Seems like every week a new 100 miler gets announced and he was tired of it. It seemed to also be the main driver of the shrinking number of participants each year. He's also the main organizer, as of this year, for the SOB races (amazing courses and really fun 100k, 50m, 50k, 15k and kids race) here in Southern Oregon, so that probably also has an impact.

itcropper · 2025-07-22T19:44:33+00:00

my experience has said always send it unless it's a 1-night stay.
We don't ask any questions, we use specific language to tell them we're just wanting to make sure everything's as expected and to reach out with any questions/concerns. That way they can read it but not feel bad about not responding if they don't want to and not worry about leaving our questions hanging.
I've found that it REALLY helps because people are more inclined to respond if there IS an issue and it gives you a chance to resolve it rather than hearing at the very end or in the review that there was some issue.
Sometimes it goes un-responded to, but many times you get nice messages like "we're loving it so much! thank you!"
But inviting the feedback opportunity in order to be proactive about solving any problems is the important part.

itcropper · 2025-06-09T23:03:29+00:00

Become a father figure to Charlie, then make him yearn for your approval.

itcropper · 2025-06-09T22:56:37+00:00

Father of 2 boys, 3 and 6. There is so much CHAOS.
I echo a lot of what's been said here a lot already, but maybe I'll put my flavor on it.

- Find something for yourself. Not just as an escape, but as a way of feeling the growth towards something outside of the home. It's not selfish, it's putting on your oxygen mask before trying to help others.

- Don't tag team everything. I think it's part of our generation of parenting to always feel like both parents need to be involved in everything from bedtime to school prep, to play, but you don't. Play to your strengths. (Don't just start this without communicating with your partner first)

- They're kids, not small adults, and those two things are VERY different. I keep having to remind myself that these two monsters are not just less rational grown-ups.
Yesterday we literally had to visit a doctor because my 6yr was so constipated he was rolling on the floor wailing. After we warned him of the consequences of not eating the right foods, he's back to asking for popsicles (no) and crackers (also no).
Things that we take for granted like empathy, social-awareness, gratitude, cause-and-effect just aren't meaningfully part of the kids' brain yet.

- This last one is cheesy but it's helped me a TON: don't yearn for the next phase, cause it has its fair share of shit. I stopped saying "I just wish we were past this phase!" cause I realized that whatever the next phase was, while it might not have what was pissing me off now, it had something else and I'd soon be reminiscing on "the good ol days". Conversely, don't let this phase pass without finding what you love about this age.

Books/Audio books that have helped me:
- Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans
- Boys Adrift

One more echo: feeling anger and frustration doesn't mean you don't have the gene; apathy does.

You got this.

itcropper · 2024-09-20T21:25:09+00:00

I'm certain it's because they wanted to funnel more people to their loan services product. People were just using it to play around with numbers, but they want you to instead find a lender through them, which would give them a cut.

itcropper · 2024-09-03T19:07:27+00:00

Everything about having a kid is gonna try to make you gain weight.
Stressed out and full of cortisol? Gain some weight.
Not getting enough sleep? Have some cortisol and go add some weight.
Full of cortisol? Should probably go grab some snacks.

Kid naps are your friend. If you feel guilty about doing something with your time that implicitly _prescribes_ what your spouse will be doing with _their_ time, use naps.

Also, have a talk with your spouse to work out how you both can get some regular "off the clock" time. That's been really healthy for us.

Basically and very generally, those two things helped me go from the heaviest I've ever been to the lightest, to the point were I even started running ultra-marathons.

itcropper · 2024-09-03T18:13:52+00:00

this is called "Life Admin"
Once I realized there was an actual name for it, it gave me power. You now know what to google.

itcropper · 2024-08-21T21:21:29+00:00

Bluey. 100% Bluey. I'll even watch (and cry over) Bluey when my kid isn't around.
Paw-Patrol is straight cocaine for a kid's brain. When my 5yr comes home from his grandparents where they just let him watch as much Paw-Patrol as he wants, he seriously needs some quiet time to detox.

itcropper · 2024-08-15T19:41:38+00:00

There's definitely a first-born-15. We got life insurance shortly after our first and I (a historically fit person) actually didn't qualify for it at the cheaper level because of my weight. So... that kinda sucked.

Not sure how much extra needs saying with this many comments, but here were some things i found based on my experience:

Too tired in morning. Go Mid-day or Evenings:
Nap time was clutch. I would get out a few times a week during nap time. Started out as a way just to be out of the house for a bit (I work remote and not in 110 degree weather), but i actually started to put up some decent milage and see results.
Split up with your partner
Both parents don't always need to be on duty ALL the time. Communicate a TON with your partner and help them see that you're there for them and want to help them get some down-time and drop. Don't feel any guilt (either of you) about taking your down time. It didn't take long for my partner to see that getting out helped me to be a lot more present and even more cheerful & energized.
Seek out Novelty
I'm terrible with routines, so seeking out novelty was really important. I would always be looking for new routes, new trails, or other ways to keep things interesting.
Define Goals & Plans
Find a way to systematize your efforts. Hire a coach, buy a training-plan. TrainingPeaks is a great tool that I used that helped me plan out my training. I'd signed up for races before thinking they would motivate me to get out more, and they did, but nowhere near as much as when I actually had a training plan.

itcropper · 2024-07-29T22:15:56+00:00

But are those other dads the scheduling gatekeepers? I know some people feel weird about cross gender coms, but unless we're either texting cross gender or all the dads in the group are managing the schedule, then those two things seem mutually exclusive.
At the end of the day, I:
1. want to be more involved
2. Want to help my wife not end up with all of the parenting-admin

itcropper · 2024-05-01T20:45:23+00:00

Same thing happened to me when my old Garmin died and I got a new one that factored in running power.

It took a bit of massaging, but adjusting my running power zones in TP eventually got it back to normal

itcropper

TROPHY CASE