We put out a call for DIY-dads to send us pictures of projects they’ve done for their kids – and our first one came from Fernando, in Sacramento, California. Fernando ran into a common complaint while potty training his daughter Eva: almost all of the steps at the store are too high or too low, and since toilets are all different heights, it really takes a custom project to make for perfect potty practice. “I shopped for hours looking for a good step and there’s nothing really stable out there for the little ones, they all seemed to be designed for bigger kids,” Fernando told us in an e-mail.

Most of us just cave in and buy one of those little kid floor potties, then slosh toddler poop everywhere and stub our toes on it every night. Not Fernando.

I woke up this morning to my wife asking me, “You’d tell me if you were going to become a woman, right?”. It was too early for a headache and I hadn’t had my coffee yet. She told me she had just heard the news that Tom Gabel, singer of Against Me!, announced that he is making the transition from man to woman.

Wow. This is the first, wait, second, nope, third time a well-known musician has come out to the public with plans to make a gender transformation. I grew up knowing Against Me!, though I was more into rockabilly/old school punk at the time, so this news is relevant to my wife and I. Tom and I were both born in 1980, we both play guitar and sing, we both have daughters that are around the age of two, so it hits close to home and I understood my wife’s light-hearted way of sharing the news.

Editor’s Note: ”Fatherhood On the Go” is the multi-part story of Remy Stevensen and his family. Please read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 & Part 5. Also, consider donating to this cause (links removed, campaign over) to make Remy’s ride a success!

So, the end of this road has come. It came at the intersection of HWY 30 and the entrance of a Super Wal-Mart in Iowa. Many people have told us to not see this adventure as a failure, but that has been a rough conclusion to get to. I have begun to accept that shit happens and that no matter what choice we made, we did the best that we could against so many odds. Sometimes adventurers have to dip out of the dungeons, get back to the village for repairs, potions and better equipment. I just wish that the DM could have thrown in some better loot!

(BTW, this episode is brought to you by D&D)

I miss all the hats I was able to wear; father, mechanic, navigator and husband. I still wear them now but it’s not the same. When we were riding, I constantly had to switch them, now that we are temporarily done some will just collect dust for a time. I have realized that being a parent is tough no matter where you are or what you are doing, unless of course, you are a lazy P.O.S. expletive-bag parent. We all have roles which we fill; the thief can be the comedic relief, bad guy and save the party once or twice too!

So – journey’s over. This leg of it, at least. We’re in Maine now, planning the rest of our lives.

Episode 029: Snap, Crackle And Pop

This week’s episode covers the following stories on 8BitDad.com for the week leading up to May 8th, 2012: PQotW: How Early is Too Early for a Cell Phone? / Dads: This Is Why You Are Important / Circle of Moms: Friendly Man Equals Child Predator / Does Helicopter Parenting Drive Dads to Cheat?