DADsquared℠

Dear little man, It will soon be 2015, and although your little mind can not understand this yet, we are on the edge of some exciting and momentous of things. read the full article  HERE

As the new year approaches we often find ourselves feeling a tad overwhelmed, frustrated and oh so weary. It’s as if we are looking at life, at ourselves and all the people we encounter with those horrible magnifying makeup mirrors.  Every flaw, every nuance is exaggerated and every feeling seems designed to personally attack and put us on the automatic defense. We want things to be perfect.  We need things to be perfect and quite frankly we are setting ourselves up for disaster. I learned a long time ago that are some simple, yet powerful actions I could put into place to avoid heartache, disaster and allowing the Grinches in. Here are three. Read the full article  HERE

I just had the pleasure of reading  The Christmas Truck  to my three year old son, He sat enthralled and excited through each and every page. "That little boy has a Daddy and Papa just like me!' he exclaimed and there is no greater joy for me than when my boy sees his family represented, especially in such a loving and special way. The story takes us along with a cool same-gender family as they embrace the true spirit of Christmas, The spirit of giving. We tag along as they prepare their home and their hearts for the holidays. They teach their son about giving to others less fortunate than he and about overcoming obstacles. With the love of his family and the quick thinking of his awesome grandma nothing gets in the way of making a special Christmas wish come true. The Christmas Truck , lovingly written by J.B. Blankenship and beautifully illustrated by Cassandre Bolan  has already become one of our holiday traditions and I hope it becomes

One of the most amazing gifts I get from working with DADsquared is the building of relationships. I read and share stories daily from families all over the country. We hear of their struggles, their triumphs, the stumbling blocks on the road to parenthood and some of the tools that led to success. One voice I do not share often enough is that of the surrogate. Many of us have have become parents with their help. Some of us maintain these special relationships in so many different ways. They may be our child's special "aunt" or a close family friend. Some of our children know them truthfully as their birth-mothers and yet others may never know them at all. Regardless of what place they may hold in our hearts they are undeniably magical, special and for many.. mysterious women. I often hear.. "how could a woman do that?" "I could never carry a baby and then give it up." I will say that I have learned that for some surrogates it is a ca

Working as a Holistic Parenting Coach and especially working with LGBTQ families, I have learned that while many parenting issues are universal and effect all parents, there are indeed issues that arise that are unique to gay parents, and deeper still to gay dads. The following list was compiled from some of that work. It is not meant to be a definitive “how-to” list. There are some lovely treasures here. Take what resonates with your heart and remember to love one another fully, passionately and knowledgeably. Read the full article  HERE Photo “ Love Is What Really Matters ” by  Purple Sherbet Photography  is licensed under  CC BY 2.0

This time of year always finds me giving thanks. I give thanks for the life I have, the family and friends I have and for the moments that define me. I wanted to reach out to just a few of the dads in my life, a few heroes that have pursued their dreams to become fathers. They have pursued those dreams against great odds and are opening doors, minds and hearts so that others will follow. All around this world, the number of gay men choosing to become fathers is increasing, rapidly. They are setting goals, taking out loans, loosing friends, family and sometimes faith in order to have the honor and the privilege to raise a child. This journey is aw inspiring and at times emotional beyond comprehension. The journey, the destination called parenthood comes at a great cost for many of us and yet gives birth to moments of both sheer beauty and devastating pain. Moments that at their finest and at their saddest, take our breaths away. Read the full article  HE

My husband and I recently celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. Our son and I share a birthday around the same date as well, so my family likes to plan a fun and special getaway to commemorate it all. This year we decided to visit our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. It seemed fitting, based on the fact that our marriage is now,  finally , legally recognized in our home state of North Carolina and also because of the enormous strides that marriage equality has been making in recent days. read the full article  here

I am happy to say that as I write this articles my husband and I have completed the required classes in the MAPP program, Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting for North Carolina. We received a lovely certificate as our class mates cheered as each of our family names were called. I am also happy to say that ALL three of the same-gender families that started the program were among the recipients of the coveted certificate. So what does that mean? Do we now get down to the business of meeting children and growing our families? Well....... not exactly. read the full article  here

Its just a ceremony, it doesn’t really mean anything.  I mean, we have been together for 10 years and we have a 7yr old child.  We already committed to each other long ago.  That’s what I kept telling everyone.   Its not a “Wedding” wedding, Its just a formality. We decided last year that we needed to get married.  There were many reasons for the decision. The biggest one was so I could legally change my last name in order to start the process of all three of us having the same last name.  Or course there were other reason too.  For instance, I am on T’s health insurance at his work.  His employer is nice enough to offer their health insurance to domestic partners of employees.  This means that regardless of if your partner is the same sex or different sex, they can be covered through the employee’s health insurance without being married.  The bad part is that you are taxed on that benefit.  It’s a pretty hefty tax.  Every year we get a letter from his e

By:  Doyin Richards Today's dads are clueless, incompetent, emotionless buffoons who don't know their asses from their elbows when it comes to childcare, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. The overwhelming majority of us (yes, I said, the overwhelming majority) are smart, loving, and just plain awesome men who put our families first. Don't believe me? Check out this compilation of photos taken directly from the  Daddy Doin' Work Instagram feed . Contrary to what you'll find in mainstream media, this diverse group of dads perfectly illustrates what life is really like for fathers all over the world. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then you should prepare yourself for an epic 21,000-word post on modern fatherhood. Enjoy. 1. Dads become supremely confident the moment their kids are born. 2. Dads know how to catch a nap even when they're outnumbered. 3. Dads always give their kids VIP seating in life. 4. Dads get pedicures with their daughte

So we began our MAPP classes this past August 26th, 2014. MAPP being the State-required class to license as a Foster or Adoptive parent, Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting. In part one I shared how my husband and I were a part of a very special group when we licensed in our old home State of Florida. We were a part of the State's first all (openly) gay and lesbian. Going into this again here in our new State of North Carolina had us curious. How would this class look? How welcomed might we feel? How diverse would it be? Read full article  on The Next Family here. Photo  Beau Rogers

Once a year, here in Durham NC, we have an amazing event called the  Noth Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival . It is held at the beautiful  Carolina Theatre of Durham , a theatre that was built in 1926 and that has seen so much, not just in the name of art and history but in the way of civil right's movements and the blur of faces, causes,  triumpths and injustices, all that have played out not just on it's screen or stage but on its sidewalks and walkways. What should have been a lovely morning took a turn. Another moment in history was about to be played out. Read full article here  The Next Family Henry Amador is a husband, father, writer and  life coach . Henry founded  DADsquared  where he continues to provide love, support and resources to gay fathers and those on the road to fatherhood. He lives in North Carolina with his happy tribe and hopes to grow old on the family farm with rolling hills, m