Today is ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day, the anniversary of the first day of the Gallipoli campaign, it is a reminder of a very important episode in New Zealand's history.

A campaign during the First World War that as far as military campaigns go was a tragic and very costly loss to both Australia and New Zealand, ANZAC Day is certainly not about victory but about the bravery and ultimate sacrifice these young men gave to their king, country and each other. Read more...

What inspired me to post ANZAC Day today was a letter that was featured during the day.

The letter is from a British soldier who came across the torn backpack of a dead Australian soldier. Lying there amongst all the horror and destruction are two pale-blue baby shoes and a woman's silk gloves - obviously the dead young man's most treasured possessions.

Being a father of 4 children, their safety is always on my mind especially as my 3 teenagers become more independent, to me the streets don’t seem as safe as they used to be, and it’s not just the streets, social events and parties can quickly get out of control.

Having done a level of security work myself as a night club bouncer I have seen my fair number of fights just appear out of nowhere, so I do worry about my kids.

However I know my kids are not going to want to me to follow them everywhere, so they are just going to have to learn to recognise potential risks and avoid them, but in the event that they are caught up in a situation, they need to know what to do as safely and quickly as possible.

I found this great self defence video, which as the title says is the most intelligent form of self defence I have seen.

This is a clip from tv show "Fresh Prince of Bell Air" with Will Smith, in this clip Will Smith gets reunited with his estranged father (Lou) after 14 years of absense, who tells him that he is coming to spend the summer with him. But Lou disappoints Will again by telling him that there trip will have to be postponed.

Even thou this is acting (great acting), I was inspired to post this clip.
Real live can be a lot harder.

As you may know we have writen our first book "Call Me Dad!" which was picked up on TV News Show Close-up

Click here to watch the show

if you live in Wellington, come along to our LAUNCH PARTY for drinks and nibbles on February 18th, 6pm at Dymocks on Lampton Quay.

Scott was interviewed by the Sunday News, click here to view the article yourself

If you live in Wellington, come along to our LAUNCH PARTY for drinks and nibbles on February 18th, 6pm at Dymocks on Lampton Quay.

I was packing for my business trip and my three year old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point she said,'Daddy, look at this' , and stuck out two of her fingers.

Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her tiny fingers in my mouth and said,
'Daddy's gonna eat your fingers,'
pretending to eat them.

I went back to packing, looked up again and my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face.

I said, 'What's wrong, honey?'

She replied,
'What happened to my bogey?'

Here is a site for the single father's out there, as well as the women that would be friends or love a man already with children.

Curious? Join up and have a look around it's free to join Meet Fathers Online

- Eric

A Podcast hosted on International Dad featuring show hosts Scott Lancaster and co-hosts Eric Mooij and Stefan Korn from DIYFather.com.

Today’s guest is Susan Hutson - Community Director for Bizymoms.com

Have a look at this new site (created by Diaper Genie) for parents to learn, laugh and let loose about smells associated with babies.

BabySmells.com is an online resource where parents can read facts on what a baby smells, watch weekly webisodes, order free decorative decals for Diaper GenieT pails and enter the 'Smelly Tales' contest with a chance to win $5,000.00. Since the site's
launch, there have been over 120 stinky poop stories submitted so far!

The site includes the following components:
- Smell Development: Learn how a baby develops their sense of smell, how smells affect a baby's temperament, and how parents can reduce strong odors.

- Smelly Tale Webisodes: Videos of the crazy, smelly lives of 3 different families with multiples (twins, triplets, etc). Check back weekly for new videos.

A great old-school lullabye from a Danny Kaye movie "Five Pennies"

What has happened to these great movies and entertainers???

To save my little girls ears, I tend to just hum along :-)
Singing is a great way to interact with my little girl, the sound of my voice (trying to sing) sooths her.

Warm Regards

Eric