Hipster Dad Field Trip: The Boston Ballet's Nutcracker

The Moniz Family's experience at the ballet:

Having not been to the theater in an embarrassingly long time, needless to say, me and my family were very excited to attend The Boston Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. The fact that 2 of the other Hipster Dads and their families were attending with us increased that excitement ten fold! The only thing Adriana and I were a little apprehensive about was Hendrix and the fact that he may not be captured by the performance, boy were we wrong! Upon entering the opera house a certain air of holiday magic, anticipation, and overall glee hung in the air. Everywhere I looked people were smiling, courteous, and welcoming. We made the rookie mistake of directing our gps to the actual Boston Ballet building (my fault!) and ended up getting to the opera house in the nick of time! Parking nearby was cheap and it was a brisk walk to the show. I would recommend the coat-check to anyone attending with kids, it was a piece of cake dropping off and picking up our coats and made navigating the theater much easier.

Once we were in our seats, Hendrix in his booster, we were ready for the show to start. While waiting the three of us just sat there scanning the room, admiring the architecture, it truly is stunning! I dipped out to grab a couple of glasses of champagne and it was time for the show to start! Right from the opening Hendrix was mesmerized. The costumes were classic with a modern edge, as was all of the props and set design. The choreography itself could have carried the entire show. The troop seemed to know exactly when to focus on the story line and artistry of the performance and when to break away and add that air of playfulness that the kids needed. My favorite part of the show was when the children are presented with the harlequin and columbine toys. When the ballerina steps out of that box I looked over and my beautiful wifes face was lit up with pure joy, it honestly made the entire day for me. Hendrix, he was obsessed with the mouse soldiers and the dancing bear! The entire show flew by and we are absolutely making this an annual tradition! The Hipster Dads were treated to a backstage tour after the show (photos to follow) and trust us when we say, putting this production together is no easy feat! We were all completely captivated, impressed, and grateful to have experienced such a show. Thank you to the Boston Ballet for having us! 


-Michael

Adeline Trades Her Nap for Ballet:

When I initially thought of bringing Addy to a 2 hour long ballet, I thought that it was going to be a half hour long ballet cut short by a crying 2 year old. Once we made our approach to the beautiful facade of the Boston Opera House and entered I realized the excitement and beauty was going to accompany our journey to our seats and into a dream world where a nutcracker becomes a prince. It was also a journey where a 2 year old that usually will not sit still for 10 minutes turns into a little princess and sits through an entire ballet without throwing a fit and making me feel like an asshole.

It was pretty clear as I set up her booster in her own "big girl chair" that she was in for the long haul, as was I. From the start of the first act the newly designed sets were awe-inspiring for both Daddy and Daughter. I found myself turning to my wife at each scene change to exchange a statement of amazement with our eyes, we were like kids ourselves. The movements seen on stage made Addy ask for more…"more ballerina Daddy, more bear dance Daddy, more nutcracker".  All of this happening during what would normally be her nap time, which any parent knows is playing with fire.

Bottom Line: The Boston Ballet did an amazing job on this production. The set design was amazing,  choreography was breathtaking and fun and lighthearted when it was called for. I can't think of many things right now that would have the sophistication and beauty to bring awe to parents while at the same time delivering fun that a child demands (especially when you are putting off her nap). 

-Don

6 adults and 3 amazing kids:

Let me start out by saying to anyone who has been on the fence about bringing small children to see The Nutcracker, FEAR NOT! The Boston Ballet is on top of their game with accommodation of children and families with everything from free booster seats to a very knowledgeable staff... oh yeah, and a fully stocked bar.

When the Boston Ballet reached out to us about attending The Nutcracker all 3 families were beyond excited as it would be the first time any of us have brought our children to such an event. I couldn't wait to see how Sierra would react to seeing something entirely new and so visually stimulating. I wasn't too nervous about her behavior in the theatre as she's been to the movies before so I knew she had the ability to sit still in a seat for 2 hours.

From the second you walk through the huge archway into the building the experience just takes you over. From the hustle and bustle of the lobby to the gorgeous architecture, staircases and lights everywhere. The room just feels alive in a way your local movie house doesn't offer or could ever hope to. Once locating our seats and being amazed at how close we were the excitement just grew until the curtains finally opened and the show began. I can't begin to explain how wonderful it was - it's just something you need to go see. Sierra loved every second of it and I can't wait to take her again.

After the show we were treated to a back stage tour where we saw pulleys, rigging systems and tons of amazing props. The detail on the props and sets was breath taking and I can't thank the Boston Ballet for giving us that once in a life time view of the inner workings of such an awesome event. The night was truly magical and it was a wonderful experience I know all of us and our children will hold dearly for a long time.

-Craig

BOOK REVIEW: "Alternadad: The True Story of One Family's Struggle to Raise a Cool Kid in America"

Since the fateful day I was told: 'Read the Baby books or Die' I hoped and wished for the "hip-dad" equivalent to the famed "What To Expect When You're Expecting". When i heard about Neal Pollack's "Alternadad" with it's hand drawn cover art featuring tattoos, nose rings and an Aqua Bat's tee I rejoiced thinking I had found the holy grail of the hip how-to. Although an interesting read, it's falls short of expectations.

The main issue I have with the book is it's outright dumbing down of a father's role in parenting. Within the first 5 pages his wife says "Entertain him!" Now!" to which he replies "He didn't need to be entertained; he needed to be pacified. I turned on the TV". The stereotyping of the 'idiot dad' does not stop there, Pollack goes on to talk about how during his wife's pregnancy she read every book, began eating healthier and stopped attending events where people may be smoking. While on the other hand he began drinking more heavily, attending more rock concerts and smoking more pot. The book is written well but I am not a fan of anything that makes Dad's seem like unhelpful, incompetent idiots.

The book describes the journey from over privileged teenager to a beatnik writer in his early 30's who finds himself married and broke with a kid on the way. It is a quick read with lots of funny stories and insights into new parenting covering topics such as naming, circumcision, picking a school and the general up bringing of new baby. Although entertaining I found myself appalled at some of the things Pollack did as a parent, that he was so proud of he felt the need to write a book about it. I am in no way trying to claim to be the 'perfect parent', but some of the stuff in the book was so bad I almost stopped reading. I won't ruin the book for you but some examples that really stuck out to me were bringing their sleeping infant to loud parties (as long as the party goers smoked outside of course) and leaving his wife and three month old infant to go to Amsterdam for a poet's convention where he got so high he poured water on his head on stage and then publicly insulted a fellow poet's ethnicity. Another one was when he left to tour the country with a band he had started leaving his wife and child at home yet again, and don't get me started on "Daddy Time" and "Mommy Time" and the arguments that broke out about who's 'turn' it was to play with the baby.

I kept waiting for that moment in the book where he would realize how shitty he was being and change his ways and become a Dad worth writing a book about, but it never came. His wife, Regina, was no saint either who for the first year of their son's life realized that she could watch entire series of TV shows and complete video games front to back all while nursing, the book literally reads "i did nothing but watch TV", what a great way to bond with your child over the first few months. There were however shining moments where I said "aww", moments where he seemed like a good Dad such as "Music School" where he taught his son Elijah about rocking out, moshing and what he considered good music, but the cons outweighed the pro's too heavily for me to really enjoy this book or recommend it to anyone. I would be interested in a sequel to see if things have changed for the Pollack family because like I said I enjoyed the writing style, just not the content.

LINKS:

• Buy "Alternadad"

• Neal Pollack's Official Website

• Follow Neal on Twitter

iBaby: Baby-Proofing your iPhone

While trying to think of something to write about; my daughter was busy chomping on my iPhone and it hit me like a ton of bricks: why not write about technology and babies. In today's day and age almost everyone is walking around with a rather expensive smart phone in their pocket and our kids want in!

Now while I'm not about to go out and buy my 20 month old an iPhone 4 I do feel badly tap-tapping away on it and telling her "No No" when she reaches for it with the "I want to play too Dad!" eyes. So I find myself giving in pretty often and letting her fiddle with it which usually means covering it in 'toddle gunk', rearranging my apps and once even deleting this really adorable video I had of her from around Christmas time (such a bummer!). So what is a parent to do?

Your first option is: do nothing. Realize it's just a phone and it's a baby - it's bound to happen and let them chomp away (this is the route I go). Your other option is to buy some kind of protective casing to shield your precious phone away from baby's choppers. I have never tried one of these personally because the lady and I decided no screen media before two (here's why), but our little one will be two in mid-august and it might be fun to introduce some interactive screen media which the app store is full of!

1) The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn "iCan Play" Case - $14.99 (Being released in July 2011)

I stumbled upon this case on one of my favorite 'daddy-gear' sites http://www.daddyswag.com and found it really interesting and cool! Not only does it house the iPhone securely it also has other features commonly found on baby-toys (soft rubber grips, handles and even some baby chew-links!). The most important feature is the plastic covering that goes over the phone that allows the baby to play with the phone without actually touching the screen! It is priced at only $14.99 believe it or not and I will most likely be picking this up come August.

2) Griffin's "Woogie" iPhone Case + Speaker - $19.99 - BUY NOW

Griffin's soft squid like case may seem cuter than Fisher-Price's iCan Play case but it won't keep your iPhone as safe. If you notice, the iPhone can be removed with just a little lift of the velcro flap, I don't know about your toddler but mine would figure that out in about 15 seconds. Although it might not be as safe, it does provide some other great features not found in the iCan Play, like a speaker system that will boost the audio of whatever your little one is doing on the phone and a soft fun shape which will cushion the phone nicely when your kid whips it across the room. This one will set you back $20 which again isn't bad for an iPhone case w/ built in speaker.

3) OtterBox Defender Series iPhone Case - $49.95 - BUY NOW

Now this case is a bit different than the two I mentioned before in that it's not specifically designed for children, in reality it's probably designed for being run over by a tank. This may be taking it to the extreme but this thing is as bad ass as iPhone cases come. If you check YouTube there are videos of people tossing their phone off 20 story buildings, putting them in the bathtub and even running it over with a truck. Although this one will run you about 50 bucks (more than double the two previous cases) it's nice because you can leave it on all the time without looking like a weirdo so no need to take your phone out of it's normal case to put into the baby case. 

Feel free to leave some comments about how you baby-proof your electronics! -C

BOOK REVIEW: "Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture"

A few weeks ago Lauren told me about a book she heard about on NPR called "Cinderella Ate My Daughter". She said that she really wanted to read it and how great it sounded, so being the amazing boyfriend I am, I went to a Borders and shelled out $25.99 for it. Little did I know she'd read it in two days and then beg me to read it because, according to her it was important to read for someone with a daughter - what could I say? So here I was reading a big pink book on the subway. Not only is it pink, but it's covered in glitter and features a princess on the cover - I assure you I looked very manly reading this. Once I began reading it I felt the irony of my embarrassment.

I've never reviewed a book before so bear with me here. The first few chapters really grabbed me and I was very impressed by the thoughts, ideas and concepts that Orenstein brought up. The premise of the book is to show that the 'pretty pink princess' phase isn't as safe and cute as parents and children are made to think. The book starts off well enough and she pulls you in with her witty comments, my favorite of which was "Sesame Street Walker" referring to the portrayal of the (few and far between) female characters on Sesame Street. She does not stop at Seasame Street, she goes on to trash disney, dora, barbie and britney. The book raises a lot of interesting ideas about what these things really stand for, for example disney princesses are fine and dandy but when we look past surface we see at what they represent; weak women waiting for a wealthy man to rescue her, The Little Mermaid's Ariel even gives up her voice for a man.

One of the aspects I loved about the book was how personal it was. Each chapter tackles a new 'phase' in a young girls life through not only statistics and interviews but through intimate stories about her own battles between herself and her daughter Daisy. Hearing the stories, quotes and situations she went through personally really helps the reader connect and feel the 'fear' of these phases. Orenstein is a leader in children's studies and it was a breath of fresh air to hear her admit to struggling with these things just like us regular parents.

Although the book brings up a lot of interesting questions, it provides little to no answers. I understand it's not a how-to or self-help book but I expected to feel more prepared how to protect my daughter from this culture not more confused than ever. Perhaps there just isn't an "answer". Even Orenstein's daughter Daisy who was brought up by one of the biggest crusaders against all things pink went through a Disney Princess phase, so perhaps it really is just unavoidable. Maybe the 'great big marketing machine that is Disney' (and Matel, and Nickelodeon, and MTV and and and...) is just too big and we just can't fight it - but we can sure as hell try!  Although the book doesn't say "do this to stop that..." it does bring up a lot of very interesting thoughts you may not have considered before, it is important to be aware that these influences do exist and I suggest this book to any father of a young daughter.

EDIT --- Peggy Orenstein contacted us! She noticed my complaint of 'lack of answers' and let us know that although they may not be in the book she does provide 'idead to combat' here: http://peggyorenstein.com/resources.html - Check it out guys, lot's of neat links and ideas!

CHECK OUT PEGGY ORENSTEIN'S WEBSITE HERE

BUY "CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER" HERE

FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER HERE @PeggyOrenstein