Greats Dads Need Super Partners

IMG_0082I am told often that I am a great dad and that there needs to be more involved dads in the home. I agree with that sentiment but there are more dads involved today than ever before, however there are still some who are just too busy and some that just arn’t there at all. I think the dads that are not involved with what is going with their kids are missing out on a lot of awesome stuff. There are some dads that just can’t be there. I get that. They are away for work or some other circumstance that keeps them out of the picture. Those dads definitely have amazing partners that help make parenting a little easier. Sometimes a dad can’t be there, but when they are it’s incredible for their children.

For me personally, I know that I cannot be a great dad without my super wife. While I am at work all day she is taking care of our kids along with a few extra kiddos for some friends. She has them doing projects, making sure they are eating good lunches, taking naps, and everything else you can imagine that needs to be done. Dishes, laundry, sweeping, and much more cleaning. The kids can test her patience but she takes it like a champ. She is fair and does what needs to be done without letting anything stop her.

IMG_0159If this was me, I honestly think I would have thrown in the towel. I can barely get my son’s shoes on without having to chase him around the house while he’s screaming like a velociraptor. She has the magic touch to get him to sit still while socks and shoes get put on. She makes my job as a dad significantly easier and I thank her so much for that. It makes being a great dad that much better. I do not have to turn up the volume of my voice when I have to lay down the law. The kids listen to me because of the ground work she lays down during the day. They’re ready to play because she has done the leg work for me. It’s a crazy balance of team work.

TIMG_0858here are days where the team falls apart, but I think that’s just Murphy’s Law working it’s magic. Not everything can be perfect all of the time, but most of the time things are running pretty smoothly and much of that credit is due to my super wife. The one who does it all. The one who shows me the ropes when I’m not sure what to do. She doesn’t have a costume, and her secret identity has been compromised an endless amount of times, but she is amazing and I love her for all of the hard work she puts into our family. It is all appreciated and I am thankful for everything she does.

But don’t forget that sometimes your super partner needs a super break. It’s important for me to recognize when my wife might be coming close to the edge and needs a break from the kids. You can see the frazzle in her face and the crazy coming out of her eyes. At that point I know it’s time to take over completely. I will get my wife a drink and send her off to watch her favorite shows or do something else she enjoys. It could be for a measly 15 minutes or for several days. We all need breaks to clear our head and shed off the stress of life. She helps me be a great dad, so it’s only fair for me to help her relax a bit so she can recharge and be the super mom she is.

What are some of the ways you help your partner out with the kids? Do you take over when stress kicks in? Comment below!

St. Louis Sportsmanship

cardinalnationI personally did not hear it and I haven’t heard any recordings of it, but that didn’t stop the people from claiming that the best fans in baseball are bigots. Many are claiming that the Cardinals fans would never do such a thing, which I would like to believe. Maybe it didn’t even happen. According to Deadspin it didn’t… But according to the New York Daily News it did. I didn’t hear it myself but to claim that it did when it didn’t, well that’s something right there. I do believe there can be racists anywhere, including in Cardinal Nation. However, I do think we are better than this and if it did happen or didn’t happen is irrelevant as the idea of being unsportsmanlike is bad for the birds and bad for baseball in general. The league is so diverse as it is. What would shouting something like that out at a game do to help anybody?

I didn’t want to have to write this. I already wrote about sportsmanship last July when Yadi was boo’ed at the All-Star game in Cincinnati. I didn’t want to have to write the same thing again about the fans. We need to be better than this and I think we can and are better than what the headlines read.

AP-Cubs-Heyward-BaseballOn Sunday, the Cards played the Cubs in their first match up of the season. In case you were not aware a stand out player from last season Jason Heyward went from playing for the Cardinals to the Cubs and apparently some Cards fans were not too pleased to see Heyward out on the field. During the footage you can hear Redbirds fans booing Heyward. Which is okay during the regular and post season. But according to some sources instead of just booing him like many fans did, they threw out racist language that apparently was caught on ESPN’s mics. I have heard some claim that ESPN has said no slurs were said but I haven’t seen an actual source saying this. So my guess is as good as yours.

What I do know is that Jason Heyward is an amazing ball player and he deserves at least that much respect. Boo him if you’re upset he’s not a bird anymore but to call him something completely inappropriate is uncalled for. Busch Stadium is a family friendly stadium and hearing claims of this makes me sick and sad to be a Cardinals fan.

This isn’t how Redbird Nation became the best fans in baseball. I think we’re better than this and I am having a hard time believing it actually happened. I will also say that if I was sitting next to someone yelling out that racist language, best believe I’d say something to that person. Nobody deserves to have racist slurs directed at them.

Trying Out Some New Fazoli’s Salads

fazolisI don’t have many restaurants contacting me very often asking me to try out some of their food. When they do it’s more than likely that I will agree, because free food. A few days ago Fazoli’s contacted me letting me know that they had four new salads available starting April 4th and would like me to try a couple of them out and asked that I write about what I thought of them. It sounded good and the family and I like Fazoli’s anyways so it was an easy decision to agree with. The hard decision was deciding which salads to try. There would be no way we could try them all, but I knew we could at least give two of them a shot.

The new salads featured quality ingredients such as premium smoked meats, 100% Romaine, and house-roasted chicken, Fazoli’s four new fresh inSALADas include:

  • Chicken Bacon Caesar
    • 100% Romaine topped with tender house-roasted chicken, crispy bacon, juicy vine-ripened grape tomatoes, and imported, shaved Parmesan in a velvety, citrus, signature Caesar dressing.
  • Italian Deli Trio
    • 100% Romaine topped with generous portions of savory Genoa salami, seasoned capicola, and baked ham, plus Kalamata olives and imported, shaved Parmesan in a white balsamic vinaigrette.
  • Classic Roman
    • 100% Romaine topped with house-roasted chicken, Kalamata olives, caprese-style bell peppers, spicy pepperoncini, and crumbled Feta, in a red wine balsamic vinaigrette.
  • Market Strawberry & Feta
    • 100% Romaine topped with tender house-roasted chicken, fresh seasonal strawberries, sliced almonds, feta cheese, and featuring our tangy poppy seed dressing.

IMG_4244Since everyone in our family loves Fazoli’s we picked up two salads, a pizza, and some breadsticks. We picked up a Chicken Bacon Caesar, and an Italian Deli Trio. The salads were yummy. They were really fresh, the bacon in the Chicken Bacon Caesar salad was very crisp compared to other salads I’ve ordered in the past from other restaurants. The signature Caesar dressing was so delicious. This salad is a great choice. The chicken was so tasty and complimented the bacon and everything else as well.

IMG_4245The Italian Deli Trio I really liked a lot because of all of the meats and the olives that were included. The veggies were just as fresh as the Caesar. I was not a big fan of the balsamic dressing but it wasn’t too bad, my wife liked it. I prefer to smother my salad’s in ranch, so I used that on the my portion of the salad and enjoyed it a lot.

My wife and kids both really liked both salads as well. I had to keep them all from picking out all of the tasty bacon and other meats from both salads. The kids leaned more towards the Chicken Bacon Caesar. But they did take a few bites out of the Italian Deli Trio. I’m just happy they are eating veggies.

Both salads that I tried tasted like they were made right when I ordered them and not “made fresh” that morning. The greens were crisp and the other fresh ingredients really made these salads awesome. Add on a pizza like we did and you have yourself a great meal for the whole family. Or check out all of the other awesome dishes that Fazoli’s has to offer.

IMG_4241Additionally, throughout the month of April, guests will have the opportunity to share with Fazoli’s how they’re getting their fresh on by commenting to posts on Instagram and Facebook. By commenting on these posts, guests are entering to win a $500 Visa gift card and a $50 Fazoli’s gift card for use toward their pursuit of getting fresh! One winner per week will be selected during the month of April, for a total of four winners.

Like” Fazoli’s on Facebook and “follow” Fazoli’s on Instagram to stay up-to-date on information for Fazoli’s Spring Saladbration.

There are nine restaurants in the St. Louis area. Find one in your area and enjoy some really delicious food.

Fazoli’s provided St. Louis Dad with a gift card to purchase salads for review. Opinions expressed are solely St. Louis Dad’s and do not express the views or opinions of Fazoli’s. Check out Fazolis.com for more information!

Date Night? How About Date Day!

11216264_10201709647301129_3072738525875754801_n Date night, the night where everything comes together and stress melts away while you eat, dance, drink, and maybe eat some more. But what about those times where you just can’t get a date night… Well how about a date day? This past weekend my wife and I had two tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals game. We always try to go at least once to a game, so we called up mammaw and pawpaw and asked them to watch the kids while we went to the game.

It was one of the best days ever. This isn’t a joke either. We didn’t drink any beer or alcohol, but we did enjoy some tasty nachos, shared a burger, and a few sodas. The Cards started off great with a homer and a few runs, but the Reds quickly caught back up and took the lead. That’s okay though. It’s not always about winning at the ball park (unless it’s October, then it’s all about winning). We joked and laughed and talked and kissed under the nice big score board in the outfield bleachers. It was a fantastic day that I wish didn’t end. I also wish we had even more money than what we took because it would’ve been cool to try out even more food than what we already stuffed in our faces.

It was one of the best days ever.

12991103_10201710143593536_7218664610578720171_nWe snuck around trying to find other seats, which just happens to be one of my favorite things to do. We didn’t get very far because just about every section has someone there wanting to check out your ticket. We made it to a few standing areas but we didn’t get as close as we wanted. However, we did take advantages of a nice little sale near one of the stores and picked up a $10 hat.

I have been to many baseball games as well as a few giveaway games where they give away something, but never got anything. They ran out of Mother’s Day bats when we went on that day and seen dads and kids with the bats (hey you’re not a mom!). This time we were fortunate enough to get to the stadium early enough to get two Adam Wainwright bobble-heads. How cool is that? Pretty cool except you now have to carry these two boxes around with you most of the day. But that’s okay. It was well worth it.

After the game we got back on the crowded metro-link and headed to our station to get home. Once we got home we took off our shoes and relaxed our socks as we planned our dinner and the rest of our night. We settled on making a delicious homemade dinner and visiting Donkey Kong Country on the SNES.

Sometimes, it’s not a date night, it’s a date day, and to me, that is completely okay. Especially when you’re with the woman you love.