Tag: parenting

I let the elder kid choose her lunch. She chose a pizza so huge that each slice is larger than her entire face. Needless to say, she needed a little help with it!

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Two preteen children sit in front of an enormous pepperoni pizza.

Still at MegaConLive. I've not done this kind of con before (and still wouldn't, were it not for my tweenager and her various obsessions). Not my jam, and that's fine.

But if there's one thing for which I can sing it's praises: everybody we've met is super friendly and nice. Sure, you can loudly telegraph your fandoms and identities via cosplay, accessories, masks, badges, bracelets or whatever... but it's also just a friendly community of folks to just talk to.

The fashion choices are, more than anything, just an excuse to engage: a way to say "hey, here's a conversation starter if you'd like to talk to me!"

Overheard a conversation between my kid and another of a similar age, and there was a heartwarming moment where the other kid said, "oh wow, I thought I was the only one!" Adorbs.

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Convention stage with MegaConLive branding.

I may have been dragged to MegaConLive London by my multi-fandom loving 12-year-old, but I at least managed to find somebody worth getting a selfie with.

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Dan Q with Eddie Bowley.

I think my "six seven"-obsessed younger child was in the kitchen with a biro earlier. How do I know, you ask?

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Close up of a bunch of bananas. The numbers 6 and 7 have been drawn on them in ball point pen.

The younger kids' taekwondo school put on a free 'new years workout' class this morning. It was pretty awesome.

My watch says my heart rate averaged 146bpm, peaking at 169bpm. It's possible I'm not as fit as I used to be. 😅

But at least I don't feel like I might die, like I did during the 'dads go free' promotion last year. Progress?

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In a gym environment with punchbags visible in the background Dan, a white man wearing a black t-shirt, throws a right jab, alongside others who are doing the same.

As part of my efforts to reclaim the living room from the children, I'm building a new gaming PC for the playroom. She's called Bee, and - thanks to the absolute insanity that is The Tower 300 case from Thermaltake - she's one of the most bonkers PC cases I've ever worked in.

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On a desk cluttered with computer parts, a partially-built PC stands in an irregular-hexagonal prism shaped case with vented yellow sides and a three-pane angled glass front.

Back at the Rollright Stones fire New Year's Day, per family tradition. This year the younger child counted 74, the elder 59. The curse that prevents you counting the same number twice continues!

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A man with blue hair points at some standing stones.

I asked the younger child to "help" me calculate how much Yorkshire pudding batter to make for this Christmas dinner.

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Dan, a white man with a beard and blue hair, wearing a WordPress-themed Christmas jumper, beats a bowl of batter.

"Well," he began, "I'm going to want FIVE Yorkshire puddings, soo..."

I'm not sure which of our children was last in this bath, but the configuration in which they've left their toys makes me feel as though I'm the subject of some kind of waterfowl-related shunning.

Perhaps they finally got wind or my heretical opinions on the God of Ducks (may he throw us bread) and they've collectively decided to disassociate from me?

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Four thematic rubber ducks sit along the edge of a fitted white bathtub, seemingly deliberate in their placement which sees them facing directly away from the bather and towards various shampoo bottles and a candle in a glass.