DADsquared℠

photo: AwakeningTimes I can't remember when it happened, when I stop expecting to see my father.  I remember far away moments, looking out into an audience or across a room or at either side of friends and family members only to see a vacant seat. I remember distant conversations with my mom finding excuse after excuse for him. He tried honey,  he would have,  he really wanted to be here,  he’ll make it up to you,  he must have gotten tied up,  you know how busy daddy is and on and on.  It’s funny how much we believe those little white lies, how much we need to believe them, right?  So much so that each one comforts you long enough until the next one is required by our little forming brains and hearts.  Long enough to stretch out time and space.  Long enough that you no longer really believe them but still want to hear them and then long enough tha...

So I would never use the word intelligent to describe myself. I am far from a thinker or an over analytical man. I am much simpler than that, more basic, I’m a feeler. I trust my gut and my instincts and I make every attempt to move away from what what I perceive as pain and move towards what my spirit senses as pleasure. The pain/pleasure principle. I also believe in making as many decisions as I can sourced from inspiration rather than desperation. That little concept, I believe, can change lives. Read full article  HERE

Family Equality Council's Executive Director Gabriel Blau to write the forward for our upcoming book "Dads Behaving Dadly: Truths Tears and Triumphs of Gay Dads."  Gabriel, was recently named one of The Advocate magazine's 40 under 40, a Dad Fighting for All Dads.   His tireless efforts as a representative for all LGBTQ families and our children makes him the perfect activist, warrior and gay dad for the job. We thank Gabriel for all he does and continues to do and are so proud to have him join this project. Be a part of history, be a part of the book. For submission information go to  dadsquared.org Gabriel Blau, 34 New York, D.C., Boston During the big Family Equality Council events, executive director Gabriel Blau and his family often end up in photographs projected on giant screens. He and his husband and son are just one of the many families Blau is fighting for in his everyday work. But that enormous photo on display i...

Henry Amador-Batten is proud to announce that he will be co-authoring an exciting new book that will shine a light on gay dads like never before. Award winning author Hogan Hilling, who to date has published six books on fathers and parenthood invited Henry Amador-Batten to join him on the third "Dads Behaving Dadly" book. " Dads Behaving Dadly: Truths Tears and Triumphs Of Gay Dads " will feature gays dads, worldwide, as they share their beautiful and unique stories of fatherhood. "With more and more gay men joining the ranks of fatherhood, there has never been a better time to share these dads, these families and these stories with the world. It has become my honor and my obligation to become a storyteller for these dads, It is my sincere wish that this book will build bridges, touch hearts and help to solidify our place within the global parenting community."  Henry Amador-Batten Amador-Batten and Hillings invite all gay dads to share the...

1. When are you going to tell him he's adopted and do you think he will take the news well? We're not, we are planning on waiting until he is either eighteen or just senses that he's different to SURPRISE him with the news. Adoption is not a bad word, we have used the term since he was born. Firstly we are two men, as soon as the birds and the bees fly into our home he might start to get an inkling but by the time that rolls around he will be very comfortable with the idea of how our family was created. Read the full article  HERE

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

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

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

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