A book, a dad, french fries and Friends....

The kids and I had a great day yesterday. We got out of the house shortly after breakfast, and headed out to do some shopping.

We went by the bookstore, where I picked up a copy of "How Tough Could It Be? The Trials and Errors of a Sportswriter Turned Stay-at-Home Dad." It's a book by Austin Murphy, a writer for Sports Illustrated, who took a six-month break from his job to stay home with his two kids. Both Rebel Dad and the At-Home Dad Newsletter are planning reviews of the book, and I thought I'd give it a go as well. I did have some trouble finding it at the store. I checked the "new releases" area and then the "parenting" section with no luck. I finally asked a clerk for help and was directed to the "humor" aisle. Ah! I suppose I should have thought to check there in the first place. Stay-at-home dads are often played for laughs, even here at the Daily Yak. Anyway, I'll let you know my thoughts on the book once I've had a chance to read it. I've only read the jacket so far, but I was struck by this line, "...Murphy embarked on his journey much as Shackleton took to the Southern Ocean: spectacularly ill-equipped to survive it." Well, there you go. Sounds gripping. Though I must say I've never thought to compare my adventures as a dad to those of an Antarctic expedition.

We headed over to our local mall after leaving the bookstore. I picked up a few items on my shopping list and then let the kids loose in the mall's central play area, which my little ones just love. I let them run around for a while (nothing like a little exercise to help the afternoon naps along) while I chatted with a fellow at-home dad who just happened to be there as well.

Then we had lunch at the food court where my son tried to engage every passerby in a conversation about his french fries. He's a sociable little guy. We stopped by Mr. Smoothie on the way out and got our "special drink" (a strawberry-banana-yogurt smoothie) which kept the kids occupied on the drive home (note to self: next time get a smoothie for yourself, as the kids no longer leave enough to share with dad). We then had a playful, but uneventful, afternoon at home.

My wife came home in time for a rushed dinner before she had to head out the door again for a meeting. The kids were tired and soon in bed. And I settled in to catch the Friends finale. I haven't really watched the show much the past few years, but figured I'd tune in for the final episode. FYI - if you missed it, MSNBC's Gael Fashingbauer Cooper actually did a minute-by-minute blog of the show.

All-in-all a pleasant day, though I did not make much progress on my house cleaning project. ;-(