Dadvice Weekly #6 / The Sweet Spot

Dadvice Weekly - #6

Fall always feels like the best season of the year. The weather’s cooling off, football is everywhere (college, NFL, and fantasy) and baseball is heading toward the playoffs. It’s the stretch where weekends are full of hangouts, games, and family time.

It’s also the sweet spot for everything else: golf courses in Colorado play their best with shorter rough yet still have smooth greens, Taylor Swift’s Red album sounds perfect with the windows down on a drive, and Monday nights are a mix of cheering and groaning as you explain to your wife why you need D’Andre Swift to score between 11 and 16 points to go 2-0 in your two fantasy leagues.

Soak it up while the evenings are still light, because winter and early sunsets will be here before we know it. Here’s to football, family, and the little moments that make fall the best season of the year.

Kick & Play Piano Mat

Future dads, you need to trust me on this. If you’re about to have a baby or you are building your registry this is the most important item to buy. I don’t know how but this kick & play piano mat is the best product to automate taking care of your baby while you need to do something around the house. Think about it like this: if you paid someone to babysit your baby you would pay them ~$20/hour. I bet my baby has spent over 100 hours of entertainment by this thing. If you do the math that’s at least $2,000 worth of value right there.

Bonus: there’s a pretty good line up of tracks headlined by the song about a purple monkey in a bubble gum tree. IYKYK. -SW

Go to a Farmers Market

One of my favorite activities I have started doing with my family is going to a farmers market on Saturday morning that’s ~5 minutes from my house. We’ve been hitting up a few different vendors and are starting to have preferences of which ones to go back to. We’ve started frequenting The Springs Bagel Company, SG Cattle Company for meats, and a vegetable stand for local produce. I know not all of our readers are in the Colorado Springs area but if there’s a farmers market near you I definitely recommend going to it with your family.

I’ve been buying flank steak from the meat vendor, onions and bell peppers from the farmer, and tortillas from the tamales lady to make fajitas. I’ve got the recipe dialed in and its been a nice substitute from going out to eat on Saturday nights. -SW

Toy Rotations

If you’re like us, you probably have an absurd number of toys scattered around the house—trains, Little People, Barbies, action figures, plushies, you name it. While it’s great to have options, it’s actually overwhelming for kids (and parents!) when everything is out at once. That’s where toy rotations come in. We keep three cycles of toys and swap them out every week or so. Some live in the hall closet, others in the garage, and the kids only have access to one batch at a time.

It makes playtime more focused and imaginative, and it gets us more involved in what they’re playing with. Plus, when something breaks or doesn’t get much love anymore, it’s easier to let it go. Simple idea, big impact. –KC

Hot Wheels Race Crate

Yet another big plastic toy taking up space in the playroom? Hear me out, this one’s worth it. The Hot Wheels Race Crate is surprisingly versatile: the instructions give you three solid tracks, but half the fun is when the kids start making their own creations. It also folds up compactly, so it’s easy to stash on a shelf or even toss in the van for a road trip.

Best part? It actually holds everyone’s attention—from our two-year-old to our nine-year-old. It’s a little pricey new, but we lucked out and grabbed ours at a garage sale. It would make a fantastic birthday or Christmas gift. –KC

Just for Dad: GolfFix

At work, and in my personal life, I’ve been trying to find helpful use cases for using AI. In my research I came across this free app called GolfFix that uses AI to analyze your golf swing. Its not the equivalent of a swing coach, but for someone trying to get customized feedback, its been really good. You have the option to film yourself hitting driver/woods/hybrids or irons. Then you can film yourself head on or down the line from behind. It will give you a score of 1 - 10 on your swing and provide feedback on a variety of issues the AI is looking for. It even prioritizes which of the issues to focus on verse other issues that are less impactful on your swing. Just a heads up: the app is a little clunky with ads trying to get you to go premium, but I’ve only used the free version and have been content with its features. -SW

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Dadvice Weekly is written by two friends in their thirties trying to be thoughtful, present dads without losing our minds. It’s our small way of sharing gear, routines, and ideas with other dads who are in the thick of it too.

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