A Love of Books

I haven’t written anything for a while. It’s been partially due to the fact that I’ve been extremely busy and partially due to the fact I haven’t had anything happen lately that’s really given me an inspiration to write. Seeing that my blog is called the Hoppy Father, I had told myself that I would write my next post about the latest batch of beer I brewed. But, when I sat down to write, I didn’t have much to say. Don’t get me wrong, it’s (in my opinion) the best beer I’ve made so far. It’s a Rye IPA with Magnum, Simcoe, and Citra Hops. It’s a recipe I created from scratch. It’s a citrusy floral hoppy at 90 IBUs, packs a punch at 7.5% ABV, and has enough sweetness from the malt and spiciness from the rye to balance out the hops. It’s delicious. Hell, I’m actually drinking some right now. Other than that, I don’t have much to say. I could go on and on about how I made it, and what I did differently from previous batches. But, let’s be honest, nobody reading this really cares.

Tonight, I did the bed time routine for Olive. This is usually Karen’s thing. She likes to have this special time with Olive and I like having a break. She’s created and established this routine. And because of this, Olive (usually) goes to sleep without a fight due to Karen’s persistence and perseverance of maintaining the bedtime routine.  However, tonight Karen wasn’t feeling well, so I let her hit the hay early and took care of it. We did the normal bath (semi-routine), PJs, sippy cup of milk, brushing of teeth (attempted), and diaper change. Finally, even though I attempted to see if I could skip out on it, the bed time story.  I was running behind. It was already past her normal bedtime. She was whiney and obviously tired, but when I went to put her down in her crib and say goodnight, all I got was “buuuuk?”

Now, although I had hoped to skip the bedtime story, I couldn’t help but recognize how awesome this was. I read her What’s Wrong Little Pookie by one of her favorite authors (yes, she has those), Sandra Boynton. Sandra has also become one of my favorites too. Most of her books are written to the tune of a song and after you figure out the cadence at which they’re meant to be read, they’re a whole lot of fun to read aloud.  After the story, she snuggled up on me, I put her in her crib without a fight and she went straight to sleep without a peep.

What’s awesome about this, is not the fact that my 17 month old daughter went to sleep without a fight (although that IS pretty awesome, and yes, I know how lucky I am), but rather the fact that she knew to insist I read her a bedtime story or “buuk”. One could argue she knew to insist on the bedtime story because it’s part of the routine, but I know she insisted because she loves books. Over the past 17 months of her short life, Olive has developed what a teaching mentor of mine used to describe as the most important part of early education; Olive has developed a “love of books”.

Ever since Olive was born we’ve been reading to her. Scratch that, ever since we knew we were going to be parents we’ve been reading to Olive. Once we learned we were pregnant, Karen and I started accumulating children’s books and reading one every night. Some of the books are from my classroom library I built when I was teaching, some are from Karen’s childhood, some from mine, and bunch we’ve gotten for our family’s library.

After Olive was born we continued reading to her. Not just at bedtime, but whenever we could. At first it was challenging and felt kind of silly. We would read to her and she would just sit there like a blob, seemingly not really getting much out of it. Then as she got a little older, it got a little challenging in other ways. We would try to read to her and she just wanted to turn the pages. We continued reading to her any chance we could get, and before we knew it, we would catch her by herself flipping through her basket of board books.

Now Olive will come to me several times a day with a book and say “buuk…pees” and sign please. Then most times when I finish a book, she’ll sign more and say “mo, mo”. On the many long car trips we end up taking her on, we always make sure to bring a big sack of books along with us. She not only requests them to be read to her during the car rides, but will also page through them on her own and babble something for each page. We’ve been using the Brainy Baby series to teach her the animals’ sounds, and the Bright Baby series to teach her new words. Every week I’ve been taking her on a trip to the library for toddler story time and to check out a new bag full of books.

Before I gloat any further about my daughters literary aptitude, I must confess, I’m not much of a reader myself. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of books on my kindle.  But out of those, I’ve only read a handful. And of those that I’ve actually read, most of them either have to do with zombies, surf bums, or beer. I always have intentions of further developing my “love of books” and reading an “intelligent” book; I just end up losing focus. It takes a really exciting plot to keep me interested and usually the only time I actually finish reading a book is when I’ve been sitting on the beach for a week during vacation. Regardless, I know the importance of literacy and developing it at an early age.

I love my daughter and I love that she has and continues to develop her love for books. I (like all parents) think she is the smartest little peanut to ever grace this planet. However, selfish as it may be, it’s not the development and growth she has exhibited through her love of books that I value most. Every time she comes to me with a book that she wants me to read, it’s another chance that I get to bond with her. Another time I get to snuggle up on the couch with her and lose ourselves in a book. I think I value this aspect the most because I know that one day she’s not going to want me to read her a story. One day she’s not going to want to snuggle up to me on the couch.  I know that one day I’m going to blink my eyes and Olive is going to be all grown up. I know this, and I know I’m going to treasure and cherish each and every time Olive comes up to me and says “buuk…pees”.

First Haircut

This past weekend we finally took Olive to get her first haircut. It had been a long time coming, but it was something both Karen and I had been delaying for quite some time. Not that she didn’t need it, her hair had been in her face for months now, and I’m pretty sure most people who saw her in public (our friends and family included) were probably all thinking “Oh god, that poor child can barely see, why don’t they cut her hair?!” I was even starting to wonder whether or not I was raising Olive or “cousin it”. We had been telling ourselves that we were “letting it grow out”. We had been telling ourselves that we didn’t want her to have “bangs”. We had been fighting a constant battle with hair bows, clips and ties. We’d put them in, and she’d pull them out.

In all reality, it wasn’t really that we wanted to let it “grow out” or that we didn’t want “bangs”, it was more than that. We were afraid that if we got her hair cut, she’d never again be the same little baby we’ve cherished the past 16 months. Selfish as it may be, we were trying to delay our little girl from growing up.

Finally, after worrying that she might be going cross-eyed because she always had hair in her face, we decided it was time to take her for a much needed haircut. Karen had asked around on the “MOMS of Jenkintown” Facebook page, and we got two recommendations for “Ralph’s”. A local barbershop in Glenside, it’s been around since 1922, we figured we give them a shot.

We looked up their location and noticed it was walking distance. Seeing that this past Saturday was the first semi-warm day in recent memory, we took a nice stroll down to Ralph’s. We got there and the place was packed.  Luckily we had called ahead, so we weren’t too far down the waiting list. Ralph’s is the definition of your typical barbershop. A long row of chairs (including some stadium seating from the beloved Veterans Stadium) along one side of the shop for waiting customers, and several barber stations along the other. Similar to most other revered Glenside businesses, everyone seems to know everyone and there is a very “Cheers” like vibe to Ralph’s. While I should be used to this “everybody knows your name” type atmosphere, there’s something about it that intimidates me.

Anyhow, after several minutes of waiting and trying to entertain Olive with cheerios, they called out her name and said who would be cutting her hair. I was really trying to act like I knew what to do and who’s barber chair to go put Olive into, as everyone else seemed to know the system. All the other customers seemingly knew each barber’s name and which chair to go. Of course we went to the wrong barber, but luckily she was nice, laughed it off and said she’d be more than happy to cut her hair. I realized while Jennifer (the barber’s chair I chose) was cutting Olives hair, that all the barber stations had the barber’s name written above their station, I had just never looked up. I had just assumed it was like “Cheers” and everyone knew each other!

Unsurprisingly, Olive was completely unfazed by the haircut. She had a constant supply of cheerios and a basket of toys to keep her entertained. What else could a little girl ask for? Jennifer did a great job cutting her hair. We’d given the excuse that we were trying to grow her hair out and that we were trying to avoid bangs, as to why her hair was in its current state. She informed us that her hair was still too thin to let grow out and that if we didn’t want her to have bangs, she’d still have hair in her face for quite some time before it would naturally lie to the side. We decided we’d go ahead and let her do what she felt would be best. She cut Olives hair and gave us certificate certifying that she had “met all the requirements of receiving her first haircut and graduated from babyhood”.  

Olive left Ralph’s looking like what I considered to be little Amish school boy, and Karen and I left feeling uncertain of our decision. On our walk home, we came to our senses. We decided that it was better she had her hair out of her face, and that she’d grow into her new haircut, after all it was just hair. In the days since her haircut, it seems like Olive has grown in leaps and bounds. I’m not sure if it’s the haircut, my imagination, or the fact that she can actually see now! She’s grown into her haircut and is as cute as ever. 

Brewery 2 of 14: Midnight Brewery

2. Midnight Brewery: 2410 Granite Ridge Rd. Rockville, VA http://midnight-brewery.com/?page_id=30

A short drive northwest of Richmond, in Goochland County, VA, you’ll find Midnight Brewery.  They are located in a small industrial park not too far off Interstate 64. The brewery itself is very small and consists of a small bar and very small sitting area, with the brewing occurring in a back room. The fluorescent lighting gave me more of an office type feel, than a brewery. Unfortunately on the day we visited (Saturday in late winter of 2013) it was super crowded and there was barely any room to even stand. The bar tender seemed overwhelmed and most people were there just filling growlers. Because it was so crowded we didn’t stay too long and weren’t able to hear much about their beers or brewing process. The beer we tried was decent, but they didn’t have anything with strong hop profile at the time of our visit, so that was a bummer. They do have an IPA but they were out of it at the time of our visit. It’s been a while, but I believe the beers we were able to try were: Rockville Red Ale, Not My Job Brown Ale, and Midnight Granite Oatmeal Stout. Of the three, we enjoyed the Oatmeal Stout the best and ended up getting a growler to enjoy at home.  Considering the size and layout of this brewery, I wouldn’t recommend taking children.

**After our most recent trip to Richmond, I’ve been informed by a friend that since our visit to Midnight Brewery, they have moved/expanded to a larger location within the same industrial park.

Brewery 1 of 14: Hardywood Park Brewery

1.Hardywood Park Brewery: 2408 Ownby Lane Richmond, VA- http://www.hardywood.com/

Located in a commercial/industrial area of the city, Hardywood Park Brewery offers a tasting room as well as the warehouse where the brewing actually takes place. They utilize the warehouse area for large events and live music. Since our visit, they have expanded into the adjacent building and now offer an even larger tasting room with plenty of seating. Although they are best known for their seasonal holiday release, Gingerbread Stout (BA 100), Hardywood makes some other beers that are also exceptional.  Their barrel aged series are all very sought after by the beer geek community. However, my personal favorite is their west coast style IPA, The Great Return, which is available in 16oz cans. While they do not serve food on premise, they often have food trucks on site. Live music is a regular occurrence at Hardywood, and the artists vary from bluegrass and country to up and coming local indie groups. As far as overall kid friendliness goes, Hardywood is very family friendly and many events take place during daytime hours on the weekends. When we lived in Richmond, we spent quite a bit of time at Hardywood, both with Olive and without. The first two times we left Olive with a babysitter for a “date night”, Hardywood is where we ended up!

The above photo is of a visit we made to Hardywood when Richmond’s Style Weekly happened to be taking photos for an article they published in their March 2013 issue. On the left, you can see me holding 4 month old Olive while I wait for a beer. Parent of the year right there, haha!

http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/crafting-a-revolution/Content?oid=1861620

Cherishing the Little Moments

Over the past week and a half, life has been a little hectic. Fun, but hectic. The past two weekends we’ve been traveling. The first, we traveled with Olive to visit Karen’s family in Western PA. The second, was a marathon road trip without Olive to a friend’s wedding in Charleston SC. Both weekends were a lot of fun, but tiresome and a lot of driving. We really put our new Prius V through its paces, tacking on nearly 3000 miles in the first month we’ve owned it.

Sandwiched in between the two weekends of us traveling, was a week-long business trip for my wife. Last week was tough for all three of us. It was tough on Karen because it was the longest she’s ever been away from Olive. It was tough on me because I got to experience firsthand, how truly difficult it is to be a single parent. And, it was tough on Olive because she was off her routine and she missed her mommy. She would wake up every morning and find the same picture album from our wedding, which we keep at the head of our bed.  She’d turn to the first picture, point to Karen, and say “mama”. It was undeniably cute and extremely heartwarming. But, at the same time incredibly heartbreaking because I could tell how much she really missed her “mama”.

Today was the first full day back to normalcy. We were back as a family and back to our usual routine. Karen woke up early and went to work, and Olive and I spent the day going to the “Kids Klub” at the mall, playing with her new/used play kitchen, doing chores, and running errands around town. When Karen got home and while dinner cooked in the oven, we went for a walk with Olive riding in her little push from behind car. We ate dinner and Olive did her usual after dinner routine of playing with Mama on the floor.  As bedtime approached, Olive snuggled up between Karen and I on the couch as she drank her sippy of milk. After her milk, Karen took her up stairs for her bedtime story and bed.

Now, this might all seem pretty boring and mundane. I’m basically narrating the typical day of a stay at home dads. What makes today any different? It was a good day, but nothing special. Well, what made today special was what happened when Karen went to take Olive up to bed.  Karen likes to do bedtime with Olive on her own and I think it’s a great way for the two of them to create a mother daughter bond. I also don’t mind the break!  Anyhow, when Karen takes Olive to go up stairs for their bedtime routine, this is where I say my goodnight. Usually, I give her a hug and a kiss, I say “goodnight” and “I love you”. Usually, Olives only response to this is maybe a quick “bye” as she excitedly climbs up the steps with guidance of mom.

Tonight however, she was extra snuggly when I gave her a hug. Then before I could say “goodnight” and “I love you”, SHE said “I love you” and “Bye Dada”! Needless to say my heart melted. It’s the little milestones and events like this that confirm and reassure me of my decision to stay home with my daughter. It’s the little things like this that I cherish!

14 Breweries in 14 Months

Let me start by saying, I didn’t initially set out to see if I could take my daughter, Olive, to 14 breweries in her first 14 months of life. I didn’t even realize how many breweries we had taken her to until late July 2013, when we arrived back from our vacation to the San Francisco Bay Area.  We had gone on vacation to visit extended family and show off our new bundle of joy. Unbeknownst to my wife, I had ulterior motives. It just so happened that several breweries, that also happen to make some of my favorite beers, were conveniently  just a short hop, skip and a jump from where my extended family lived. While in the Bay Area, we visited 4 different breweries or brewpubs. This was in addition the 4 breweries we had taken Olive to prior.  It was at this point that the “light-bulb” sort of went off; we had been to 8 breweries or brewpubs in Olive’s short 8 months of life!  After this realization, it kind of became somewhat of a challenge to myself, could I keep the streak going? Could I continue to take her to another brewery for every new month of life?

Shortly after our trip out west, we moved from the Richmond Virginia area to the Philadelphia area and suddenly we had a whole new stock of breweries and brewpubs to check out and explore! Initially, my goal was to see if we could keep it going until she turned 1, so that it would be 12 breweries in 12 months. Well, Olive’s birthday came and went, and we were able to visit an additional two brewpubs during months 13 and 14. I had hoped to keep the streak going, but between the constant wrath of the arctic vortex and multiple rounds of snowpocalypses and snowmageddons, it looks as if the streak would end at 14. Actually, as I type this, the clock is striking midnight and it is officially March 3^rd 2014. Making Olive officially 16 months, without ever visiting her 15^th brewery or brewpub! Whomp. Whomp.

Below you’ll find a list of the 14 different breweries/brewpubs we’ve visited. Although the streak is officially over, I plan to continue taking the family to visit new brewpubs and breweries as often as possible. In the future I hope to do a post on each new brewery we visit; where I plan to give reviews on beer, food, atmosphere, and overall kid friendliness!

1. Hardywood Park Brewery: 2408 Ownby Lane Richmond, VA http://www.hardywood.com/

2. Midnight Brewery: 2410 Granite Ridge Rd. Rockville, VA http://midnight-brewery.com/?page_id=30

3. Extra Billy’s Smokehouse and Brewery: 1110 Alverser Dr, Midlothian, VA http://www.extrabillys.com/

4. Lancaster Brewing Company: 302 N Plum St, Lancaster, PA http://www.lancasterbrewing.com/

5. Russian River Brewing Company: 725 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA http://russianriverbrewing.com/

6. Lagunitas Brewing Company: 1280 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, California http://lagunitas.com/

7. 21^st Amendment Brew Pub: 563 2nd St, San Francisco, CA http://21st-amendment.com/

8. Moylan’s Brewery and Restaurant: 15 Rowland Way, Novato, CA http://www.moylans.com/

9. Yards Brewing Company: 901 N Delaware Ave, Philadelphia, PA http://www.yardsbrewing.com

10. Philadelphia Brewing Company: 2440 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, PA http://philadelphiabrewing.com/

11. Cigar City Brewing: 3924 W Spruce St, Tampa, Florida http://cigarcitybrewing.com/

12. Earth Bread and Brewery: 7136 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA  http://www.earthbreadbrewery.com/

13. Strangeways Brewing: 2277 Dabney Rd, Richmond, VA http://strangewaysbrewing.com/

14. Tired Hands Brewing Company: 16 Ardmore Ave Ardmore, PA http://www.tiredhands.com/

When I initially started writing this post, I was planning on sharing a little bit about each of the 14 breweries we’ve visited. However, it’s been three days and time has gotten away from me. Plus if I did that this post would become extremely long and probably bore anyone reading it half to death. In the coming weeks (hopefully days), I plan to do short individual posts for each of the breweries we’ve visited; where I can better share our experiences, photos and thoughts on their beer and food!

Who is The Hoppy Father?

I was born and raised in West Chester, PA. After graduating from high school, I was accepted to The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). While at Penn State, I earned a B.S. in Elementary Education. In addition to earning my degree at Penn State, I also met a beautiful girl named, Karen. After graduating in December of 2008, I moved to Richmond, VA to be with Karen. Karen had taken an engineering job there after she graduated the previous semester and I followed her down, because I was (am) in love.

I got down to Richmond in January of 2009 and, needless to say, decent teaching jobs were far and few between. Not only was it the middle of the school year, I had zero connections in the educational system there, and to top it off, it was also at the height of the recession.  I couldn’t even find a job as a substitute! After a short stint as a cashier at Chipotle, various tutoring jobs, a job with the U.S. Census Bureau and a job at a summer camp where the only other person my age, was my boss; I finally was able to find a teaching job for the following year. I began teaching at an Elementary School in the Richmond City Public School District. It was arguably the worst elementary school in the city and it was very challenging to say the least, but that’s a whole different post.

After two years of living together in Richmond, Karen and I got married in 2010. After another short two years of enjoying the Richmond social scene as a married couple, we found out we were expecting our first child in early March of 2012. With both of us coming from families where there was always a stay at home parent, we decided that this was something that we valued and was important to us when raising our children. Since Karen was the obvious “bread winner” in our relationship, and I was feeling discouraged with the teaching situation in the inner-city school I was working at, we decided it would make the most sense for me to be that stay at home parent. So, on November 3rd, 2012, Karen gave birth to a beautiful and perfect little girl, Olive Adelaide Mustico, and I traded in my lesson plans and lunchbox for a baby bjorn and diaper bag. Shortly after Olive was born, Karen found out she was being transferred to the Philadelphia area. We moved to Glenside, PA in July of 2013, which is where we currently reside.

Since becoming a SAHD (Stay at Home Dad), I’ve found it to be the most incredible and rewarding experience in my entire life. Contrary to the popular belief of many (including many of my friends), being a stay at home parent isn’t easy by any means. What other job do you work 24/7 for 365 days a year for no paycheck?! Still, I consider myself incredibly lucky and extremely fortunate to be able to take such an active role in my daughter’s upbringing. I have the best job there is and I love every minute of it! In the past 16 months, I’ve witnessed the blank canvas of an adorable and perfect little infant transform into a walking, babbling, and sometimes hilarious toddler. She changes every day and she is constantly growing a learning new things. She is my world and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The First Post

If you would have told me 16 months ago that I would be starting a blog, I probably would have laughed in your face. “Blogging” haha, who blogs?! You see, 16 months ago, I was just like a lot of 26 year old guys out there without children. I was (am) happily married, I had a job that I didn’t particularly like, I liked to drink beer, and on the weekends I spent time with my friends (usually drinking said beer); end of story. Then 16 months ago, my wife gave birth to a beautiful little girl, and my world immediately changed.  For the better!

So, who blogs?! Well, apparently I do! It wasn’t until recently that I had ever even read a blog, let alone thought about writing one. Several of my friends, who also happen to be SAHDs (Stay at home dads), are “bloggers”. In addition to using their blogs to write reviews for free stuff people send them, and promote contests, and all that other stuff that successful bloggers do; they use their blogs to share their thoughts and experiences about being SAHDs with other like minded people. You see it wasn’t until I became a Father, and in particular a SAHD, that I realized what little support and encouragement is given to Fathers who want to take an active and positive role in raising their children. There needs to more fathers who share their experiences of being dads with other dads out there! Plus it seems like a great way to keep your sanity and also not feel like all you’re doing is household chores and child care.

I know what you’re thinking… “Whoa, whoa, whoa, this guy’s blog is called The Hoppy Father, and he’s just going to write about being a Dad?!”

No, I plan to try and strike a balance between posts about being a dad and posts about being a total beer geek. I love my family. I love beer. Mmm. Beer…