Just Some Dads

Looking for a way to unlock that parenting creativity you've been yearning to have? Listen here with our friend Jeff Fajans! Jeff is a Creative Performance and Executive Coach with clients who run multi-million dollar companies. He's also humble enough to join us on our little show. We talk with Jeff about unlocking and opening up yours and your children's creativity through music, reframing, attitude, and some silly stories. We had a great time with Jeff and we're sure you will too!Want to learn more? Check out Jeff and his courses here:jefffajans.comLinked InDomestikaTwitterOasis Center International

This is a special episode where we talk with Minnesota music artist, Jesse Norell. Jesse takes time to share with us his new album, Aorta Borealis,  and its inspiration, Jesse's daughter Alyssa. Alyssa is one of The Lucky Few with Trisomy 21 and she has an incredible story. Aorta Borealis  is available everywhere March 4, 2022!!!!

In the final episode of our series on dealing with grief and loss, we talk with Karlie Allen. Karlie is a Child Life Specialist working at the Hunstman Cancer Institute. She takes time with us to talk about how to help your children, from barely talking toddlers to barely talking teenagers, cope with grief. Karlie shares a plethora of incredible resources for every level, depth, and scope of grief.Here are the external resources Karlie shares in this episode:The National Alliance for Children's GriefThe Invisible String by Patrice KarstJust in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado 

In the third episode in our series on dealing with grief and loss, we sit down with Rob Allen. Rob and his wife lost one of their twin boys to Trisomy 18 in 2020. Rob shares what he and his family did to celebrate their son's life and build positive memories for the whole family. 

(Trigger Warning) In the second episode in our series on dealing with grief and loss, we sit down with Brandon Cleverly. Brandon and his wife lost their son Evan fairly late in the pregnancy. Hear Brandon's message of hope, of positivity, and invitation for service, all for his son, Evan. 

This is the first episode in a short series dealing with grief and loss. We sit down with Collin's brother Brannen and get his take on what he went through as a young father dealing with a miscarriage. Life can be hard and it's better to not go through it alone. If you or someone you know is going through grief or loss, this episode helps shine some light on what you can do to support them.

Merry Christmas from Just Some Dads! Join us for an uplifting and profound episode focused on Christmas. We share a story and a poem that mean a lot to us. We hope you can share in the joy and emotion of this holiday with us through this episode. 

What do core memories, deliberate effort, and upside down ducks all have in common? In this episode, we interview Nick Ahern and discuss how he constantly strengthens his relationship with his wife and kids all while balancing medical school, church responsibilities, and more. Nick's words of wisdom are thought provoking and funny, so you won't want to miss this one! 

We welcome back Kyson Kidd. This time not as an expecting father, but as an experienced father! We're excited for his insights and to get an update about his life and success. Thanks to Kyson for our special ending to this episode!

There are  58  days left in the year (53 when this airs)!!! Let's look back at where we have been, and make some plans for what we can accomplish with the remainder of the year. We discuss some research about using landmarks in life, ways to express gratitude, and talk Jurassic Park for a little bit. Thanks for joining us!

In this episode we celebrate Down Syndrome and Down Syndrome Awareness Month with everyone's favorite cohost. Collin shares his experience having a son with Down Syndrome and grants us all insight into valuable resources for anyone who has experience with Down Syndrome. 

We explore World Cerebral Palsy Day with Charlie Young, a stellar father of a child with Cerebral Palsy. Charlie offers unique insight and information to help children and adults understand more about Cerebral Palsy and its community. 

Welcome to Season 2! We've got some updates to our lives and some new things going on with the podcast that we're super stoked to share with you. Listen in to catch up!

In this episode we talk with Charlie Young, one of the big reasons this podcast got started. We talk about having hobbies, date night, prioritizing mental health, changing careers, and a lot more. This is a good one, so be sure to share with your friends! Also, this is our last episode of the season. Michael is headed off for some specialized Army training for the next couple of months. We'll be getting back into recording later on in the summer, so stay tuned for more episodes! Thanks for listening! 

What do Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harvey Dent, and Julius Caesar have in common (besides sounding like the set up to a bad joke)? Feel like you're down on your luck? Ready to make some positive life changes? In this episode we get into what it takes to turn your luck around, make your own luck, and get back on top. 

Let's talk about your manly hygiene, or lack there of for some of you...you know who you are. We take a fresh look at 11 things you can do to boost your hygiene. It will help you smell better, feel better, look better, and most importantly, increase your overall health! Do you need more reasons to tune in and be reminded of what you can do to be better? In case you were curious about the Amanda Bynes bit about a pimple in your nose, here's the link.

Date Night not really what it used to be? We feel you. We've been there. Probably will be there again. Date night can be hard. You want to keep the romance alive, you want to keep up the emotional investment, and you want to show that you've put forth the effort to keep courting your spouse. But with all the demands on you, it's tough sometimes. In this episode, we discuss some ideas that may help you get that jump start that you need to get the creative juices flowing and have a great date night. It doesn't have to take up a bunch of time, money, resources, or an eye in the center of the perfect storm of life. Listen in for some simple ideas about how to boost your date night game. 

Part four of our series on becoming a new dad. What happens after the first day, first week, and first month? You've got this! We talk about what to do when unexpected challenges come up, having an active imagination, the Little Drummer Boy, finding a community, and so much more. Know someone who just became a dad? This episode is perfect for them! And to all dads out there, you've got this. You're doing a great job. 

Episode 3 in our 4-part series talking about being a new dad. You're out of the first week and into the first month. Cue the routine. This is the time to get into the routine. You've kept everyone alive for a whole week. Take a minute to reflect with us about how it went and let's press onward into the month where you build your confidence and your spousal team. You may feel like you're starting to get a hang of things, or not. Either way, we offer some thoughts about really launching yourself into the rest of forever, because, you'll never not be a parent again!

Episode 2 in our 4-part series talking about being a new dad. Here's to the first week! Welcome home, or welcome to life without nurses every 2 hours, or both. It's just you, your wife, and your baby. All alone. Taking on the world together! You've got this. This episode takes us through the first week as a new father and family. We share counsel and some tips about how to navigate this first week. Trust us, the first week is a doozy. There is a lot to fight through, but we know that you are up to the task!

Welcome to the first episode of a four part series on being a new dad! In this episode we talk about what happens leading up to labor and delivery, as well as what you can expect to happen in the first 24 hours of being a new dad. It's an exciting time and a lot happens. This is the first of many steps for you on your road to becoming the ultimate dad. Are you a new dad? Do you know someone who will be a new dad soon? Share this episode with all your new dad friends!

In this episode we jump head first into how to be supportive of your spouse and how they may be supporting you. We take a look at using personality tests, understanding love languages, and some practices we've used in our lives and had other share with us that have helped us become more supportive of our lovely wives. Find us on Facebook and Instagram and let us know about all the creative ways that you've come up with to be supportive of your spouse.Here is a link to a FREE Enneagram Test, similar to the ones we took for this episode. 

Collin and Michael tackle whether or not to tackle a DIY. They even went so far as to create a decision tree to help you out. Go look for it on our Facebook and Instagram.  Huge thanks to one of our listeners for submitting a question about DIY that prompted this whole discussion. Hopefully this helps you out in your future projects and dad awesomeness!

There's no beating around the bush on this one. We all know what key events have been happening and also what is happening this week (Wednesday). Now, we're not a politics focused podcast. But we can try to help other dads out when it comes to disagreeing. So we turned to one of the few things Collin and Michael disagree about, pickles. In this episode we provide examples and tools to help you turn arguments into disagreements, help you avoid negativity when you disagree, and work out ways to apply these tips to your own life. We know we don't always agree on everything, or most things it may seem. However, we can get along and support each other as dads trying to raise our families in the best way that we can. Here is the list of articles we referenced in this episode: https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/tips-disagree.htmlhttps://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/9-tips-talking-people-you-disagree-ncna1059326https://www.inc.com/kat-boogaard/6-key-tips-to-respectfully-disagree-with-someone.html

In this episode we talk about the future! We address how to make it all yours and go just the way you need it to, all the while, doing it like pirates! Okay, not really, but we do have a fun little section where we talk about pirates and how they can help you in successfully planning for your future. Trust us, it works. We address topics this week that include setting meaningful goals. What does that look like? How do you do it? What are the practical dad applications and examples? We also talk about planning to achieve those goals. Different ways to plan based on the ways that your brain handles planning and thinking things out. We do this all in the scope of building a 5-Year Plan for you and your family. Listen in Dads and go make that plan!

We had a completely different topic planned for today's episode and we ended up scrapping it during recording in favor of a different topic. Interested? Well, it was interesting for sure. Especially since we didn't edit it out and we just let the tape roll. Was it worth it? You tell us.Are you running on fumes too? These past few (hours/days/weeks/months/longer), take your pick,  have been hitting us everywhere. We scrapped our original topic to share with you some of the things that have rattled us lately and we try to help each other talk through our difficulties and lift each other up. Hopefully, some of the encouragement that we share with each other will encourage you and give you the boost that you need to keep pushing through. Sometimes life is just tough to go through. Talk to someone about it. P.S. Stick-to-itiveness: A real word, not invented by Collin, that means "dogged perseverance".P.S.S. Listen to the end....we left you all an Easter Egg. For our the original discussion on turbulence and trees that we mention by Dieter Uchtdorf, click here. 

This episode it dedicated to dad self care. This isn't your lavender bath bomb, candle-lit, romance novel self care. We break down self care into a couple of categories that you can apply in your daily dad life to boost your morale, energy, and ability to be the epic parent that you are. 

In this Christmas Episode we discuss some of our favorite Christmas stories. It just so happens that Collin and Michael have stories related to major wars. Listen in to hear about some phenomenal experiences of finding some Christmas light in the darkest of moments. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and we hope this episode helps you grow in your Holiday Spirit, especially with the kind of year we have all had. We are grateful for you all, our listeners. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The First Noel by Yoshinori Tanaka / 田中 芳典 | https://soundcloud.com/yoshinori-tanaka-guitarMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

We talk to total epic dad, Michael Mastaler, former SWAT and K9 officer and dad to three boys just as epic as he is. Michael shares a lot about his experience when his K9 bit his oldest son (who we call Hunter the Brave) bad enough that it led to amputation.  He talks with us about his time in law enforcement and how he worked with his family through those difficult and uncertain times. The last thing you don't want to miss in this episode is the insight that this giant among men gives us about the way he conducts his life in order to manage some of the world-rocking experiences that he's had. Please join us for our 10th episode!You can follow Hunter the Brave and his shenanigans here.If you've been inspired by the experiences of the Mastaler family, we invite you to check out the Ronald McDonald House Charities. This is a wonderful organization that provided much needed services to Michael and his family in their weeks of need. 

This week, we talk with Hunter Steed, the man who just lost 18 inches of his intestines. Do we have your attention yet? Hunter is a fairly new dad with a beautiful little girl. He talks us through some intense health issues that he, his daughter, and his stalwart wife have gone through and how they have managed to survive this crazy year together, coming out on the other side stronger.Hunter is a pro at siding houses, who has a hobby as an amateur film critic (which is hard to do when theaters are closed...). Check out his website here!

BONUS EPISODE! With the Holidays upon us, we take a moment to discuss your popularity. Actually, let's be real, the popularity of your kids. Everyone wants to see you, everyone and everything is demanding your time and attention more so than usual, and let's pause to recognize the demand on your wallet. What is a dad to do during this crazy season? We take a few short minutes to share with you our simple ideas for having an enjoyable holiday season whatever your plans may be. Like our indexing family idea? Click here for the link and click on "Indexing" to set up a free account and begin the wholesome competition!

We welcome Kyson Kidd, Energy Healing Extraordinaire, to the show in this episode. We originally heard about energy healing and scoffed at it a little because it sounded a little hokey. Boy were we wrong. Kyson invites Collin and Michael to look deep inside and answer some tough questions. Maybe these questions will be tough for you too as you answer them for yourself. Here's the video we discussed in this episode. It's less than two minutes, but worth every second. Here's Kyson's various pages. Go give him a look!WebsiteInstagramSpotifyFacebook

This episode is an interview with Brian Steed: retired Army officer, accomplished author, military historian, frequent lecturer, and outstanding dad. We talk with Brian about what life was like for him and his family while in the military, unique lessons he learned about the investment needed to have quality time with his kids, and some odd rule about flip flops and the reasoning behind it. Join us for this episode that will give you loads of encouragement that you're on your way to those quality time moments with your kids. Here is a link to Brian's podcast that we discuss in this episode, "War in the Book of Mormon".Here is Brian's website, Maneuver in the Narrative Space.Check both websites out. Seriously cool and thought out stuff in there. 

Thursday, November 19, 2020 is International Men's Day. In this episode we celebrate Movember and International Men's Day by tackling the Dad Bod and body positivity. This discussion is a meaningful and personal topic to us and we're excited to share it with you. We also discuss how your approach to body positivity can affect your kids. Based on some articles and publications we came across, we offer ways to change the narrative of the Dad Bod to focus on promoting healthy, positive thoughts and conversations about body image. Here are the links to the articles we referenced in this episode: Male Body Image ProblemsLet Us Talk About Body Positivity for MenMale Body Positivity, Let's TalkHow Fathers Influence Body ImageInternational Men's DayHealthy MenHere is the "Validation" Short Film we discussed in the episode. Absolutely go watch it. 

In this episode, we talk with Liam Brugger, a professor who has a side job of professional family caretaking. He is an epic dad who can pamper his family like no other. Tune in for some insight on what your wife and kids wish you would do for them when they're feeling under. Liam also graces us with some quick tips that every dad can employ to sweeten the life they live with their families. You don't want to miss this one!

This is who we are. This is why we're doing this podcast thing. This is why you should care. We're building up a community of dads who care and are awesome. Not a dad? Join in on the fun anyways!

This episode we interview Michael's dad, Glenn. We discovered that Glenn is a Jack of All Trades, with a twist. He's actually a Master of All those trades too! Listen in to get some great tips and advice for your handyman self. As a special treat, Glenn also gives some great spouse advice!

Let's talk gear. We love gear! What dad doesn't? You have your personal gear, your family gear, your baby gear, car gear, out with the boys gear...you've got stuff that keeps you winning the dad of the year award every. single. year. Well, here's our top 10 dad gear items. Looking for additional gear? Maybe we've got it in here for you. 

We welcome Joel Judkins to Just Some Dads. He's the legendary father of our very own Collin and definitely taught Collin everything he knows about how to lead up to a dad joke. Listen in to hear Joel share thoughts about being flexible, work/family balance, and going the extra mile for your kids to create lasting memories. The music that we use for our intro and outro is from AShamaluevmusic. You can find the music on their YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_qEhSzKRyY

Here's a sneak peek of what's to come on November 2nd! We're so excited to share this with all of you and hope you share it with all your dad friends and everyone else you know. We'll see you on November 2nd!You can find us anywhere you listen to your podcasts. Simply search for "Just Some Dads". We're also on Facebook and Instagram. Search for the same thing. You'll find us!Keep Doing Good