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How Clearly Can You See After the Rain is Gone?
Can you see all obstacles in your way? Gone are the dark clouds that had you blind? I know it’s just a song. But, what if you or one of your family members sing this song and think “…I wish!”? Many, many people go through life and not even realize that they have a vision issue or if they do…don’t ever deal with it the right way. My mother-in-law for instance…52 years old and never had a proper pair of eyeglasses even though she knew she had vision issues. She just kept on like many do and kept buying those cheapo glasses from the drug or dollar stores. After all of those years we finally convinced her to go get her eyes checked. After the exam and frame selections were done it totally changed the way she “looks” at everything now.
Little Eyes Can Have Big Problems
What about the rest of YOUR family? School is back in full swing and after school sports and activities are underway. Are you looking for the signs or even aware that our kiddos may have a vision issue? Squinting, red-eyes, headache complaints, irritability when doing close work, turning or tilting head to see better, and even uses finger to maintain place while reading? I had no idea on some of these and these are just a few!
The folks at VSP Vision Care believe that a comprehensive eye exam is one of the most important ways parents can give their child the best chance at success for the school year.
About VSP Global
VSP Global includes VSP Vision Care, the largest not-for-profit vision benefits and services company in the United States with 58 million members; Marchon Eyewear Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers, designers and distributors of quality fashion and technologically-advanced eyewear and sunwear; Eyefinity® which offers innovative solutions and the premier management software and technology to improve overall practice management and patient experience; VSP Optics Group, industry leaders in new technologies, production processes, service and logistics.
According to VSP optometrist Ryan S. Nakamura, OD, of Natomas Optometry in Sacramento, Calif., the following are three reasons why a comprehensive eye exam should top students’ and parents’ school year checklists:
One in four children has an undetected vision condition
A child doesn’t know what good vision is if he or she has never experienced it. Because eye health plays a major role in academic growth, it’s common for vision problems to be mistaken as a learning disability. Undetected vision conditions can negatively impact learning development and contribute to frustrated students, poor grades and behavioral issues.
Comprehensive eye exams detect what school vision screenings cannot
A common misconception is that an in-school vision screening is a sufficient, comprehensive eye exam. While in-school screenings do help identify some vision problems, such as near and farsightedness, they do not test for all of the problems that a comprehensive eye exam can detect like diabetes and hypertension – both growing health concerns for children. Two of the most common vision problems a screening can miss are eye coordination and lazy eye.
Children’s eyes develop rapidly
A child’s eyes develop continuously until about the age of seven – making early detection essential in correcting potentially permanent vision issues. Many eyecare professionals recommend a comprehensive eye examination at six months of age, before a child enters preschool, and again before beginning kindergarten, then every year following that. Unfortunately, 76 percent of children haven’t had a comprehensive eye exam by age five.
All of these things really opened my eyes up on what I was doing and not doing for my family and our quest for good vision. I hope that you guys take the time and stop on by over at VSP’s site and see just how much they can help you and your family get valuable info about the vision of your family as well as money saving deals. They are even giving Daddy Digest readers the chance for one of you to win a pair of designer sunglasses valued up to $200! So here’s the giveaway
Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive:
- A pair of designer sunglasses valued up to $200! See the selection here!
How to Enter
Visit SeeMuchMore.com and tell me which is MOST important under “Reasons to Enroll” at the top of the page when it comes to you and your family.
Extra Entries Available
After you have completed the first entry, you are eligible for additional entries. Make sure you leave a separate comment for EACH entry. Each counts as one extra entry unless noted otherwise.
- Tell me how much you could save from the VSP Savings Calculator
- Subscribe to Daddy Digest by reader or email.
- Like me on my Facebook Fan Page.
- Follow Daddy Digest on Twitter AND Tweet about the giveaway. Leave the URL to the Tweet in your comment. You can tweet once a day, but remember to leave the URL to each tweet.
This giveaway will end on November 12th at 10:00 PM Central time. Winner will be chosen via a random number generator. Giveaway is open to US entries. The winner must contact me in 24 hours to claim their prize. Good luck to everyone!
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.
A Dad’s Impact
The other day we were going out and my son stopped at my wife’s car door. Now I figured the boy was going to pick on her by sitting in her seat and call shotgun. Instead he opened the door for her and then closed it once she was in. Now it’s been awhile since I’ve done that. Not because we’re an older couple and I don’t do that anymore, but because I’ve taken to opening the door for my daughter. She sits on my side of the car.
It’s evident that they’re my kids when it comes to their sense of humor and their love of all things geeky. It’s the things I don’t really think about, like holding open a door that surprise me. I didn’t tell him to and heaven knows he didn’t learn it from video games or from TV. So he got holding the door open from watching me. As my daughter was heading into her senior year, she and my wife had a conversation about guys and what she was looking for in a man. My wife told me later that amongst everything else, my daughter said that “he has to make me laugh like dad does, and he has to respect me the way dad respects you.”
So it hit home, that the way I treat my wife is the way my son will treat his wife some day. I’ve taught him to tie his shoes and that DC has better villains, but Marvel has better heroes. What he’s really learning is how to live his life and how to treat others, by watching me.
That can be a scary thought.
Brian
Laughing in Church
How could I be upset with my son for sneezing? He did as he was taught and covered his mouth and nose when it happened. Is it his fault the mucus build up in his head released all at once? The scene couldn’t have been done better by Nickelodeon. His first expression was one of shock and mimicked my wife’s expression pretty well. Then he turned to me… I’m sorry, maybe it’s just a guy thing, but it was pretty funny. For once, mom’s stern “behave yourself or else” look was turned at me and not at our son. We sent him to the bathroom to wash the slime from his hand and face and to also bring back wet paper towels to clean the church pew. My son looked at me as he returned and broke into a smile because… well I was still having difficulty controlling my laughter. I’m sorry, but it was really funny… It’s not every day that you see projectile mucus from a sneeze. The way it hit his cupped hand and ricocheted was a once in a lifetime shot.
So there he was sitting between my wife and myself not knowing which parent’s example to follow, mom or dad. Of course, he started following my example. Well before he could get into serious trouble, we sent him down to help with the little children. That left me in the pew next to my wife. Whenever the thought crossed my mind, I’d smile, and she’d squeeze my hand painfully to remind me to behave. Well I made it through church without laughing out loud, but my son and I laughed the entire ride home.
Brian.
Winner!
Hey y’all! It’s time to reaveal the winner for the Cash Cab giveaway!
#75 John Stets!
Thanks to all that entered and as for the winner you have 24 hours to reply back to me with your deets!
A New Face (well since you can’t see him…a name!)
Hey everyone! Ryan here and I just wanted to take a few seconds of your day and introduce you to someone new. I have always wanted Daddy Digest to be a hub for other dads to connect but sometimes it is very hard. Some dads would love to even start their own site but they are already swamped as it is trying to take care of children, wife, and life.
Well…here is one of those dads and also one superb writer…meet Brian.
Hey everybody!
Ryan and I met in the online game City of Heroes, as part of the City of Heroes podcast events. The two ofus struck a really geeky sort of friendship, between gaming, podcasts, comic books, and fatherhood.
So I should properly introduce myself. I’m a husband of 24 years, a father of two, (18 and 13), a gamer, and a self published storyteller. I live in Southwest Pennsylvania. My family moved around a bit before settling into life in PA. Many people comment on my mixture of Ohio, New York, and Southern PA accent. (Which is nothing compared to Ryan’s Texan accent. IMO.) I have a wide range of hobbies, but I think writing is my one really love best. It only took me 40 years to believe in myself enough to try. I won’t be giving up my day job any time soon. Which by the way, after a long and twisting road, I find myself as a Loan Officer for a bank. A far cry from my college major, but its were life led me.
My personal motto is “Life is too short not to laugh.” It was this attitude that won me my wife’s love, as she’ll tell you, (even after 24 years) I’m so not her type. I make her laugh and smile though, and that’s all it took. (Well, that and a dinner at Red Lobster.)
That’s who I am and I hope to share some of my life’s adventures with you.
Brian Moon.
If for some bizarre reason you’d like to contact me, you can find me at:
@Moonlyte on Twitter.
My Storytelling stuff is at:
http://moonlyte.net
Or you can email me at:
Moonlyte01@gmail.com
Underwear Where?
It’s one of those things that happen to many of us. We head out on a trip or vacation and think we have everything we need to have a stress free and flawless vacation. Then we get to our destination and found out we couldn’t have been more wrong.
We were set to head out for our trip to NYC on Wednesday morning and whilst packing the night before I also tackled some much needed “to be put away” laundry items. We pack, we leave, we arrive in NYC. I unpack (because I like to feel at home) and I notice that I only have one pair of underwear in my suitcase. Not good. I had unknowingly put all the undies away that I needed for the trip while doing the laundry.
So the hunt was on. My wife Crystal and I started scouring Times Square to find my undies fix (that doesn’t sound weird at all). We checked seven different stores and came to one single conclusion… dudes must not wear regular underwear in New York City.
I’m not talking boxers, mid-rise boxers, or even anything else. I needed regular old briefs. When I asked many people they replied “whitey tighties?” and I responded with “yes…but they can be other colors…” and then they knew more about me than anyone else shopping there all day. See, I think regular underwear gets a bad rap sometimes.
Most guys grow up going from diapers, to little boy undies, to even really cool Underoo’s, and then at some point you could choose some other styles. Not EVERYONE chooses boxers! Likewise, I don’t hate on those that don’t wear briefs. I am all for equal rights when it comes to whats under your tights.
So, after moving through all of these stores in Times Square my wife just told me to pick something up. I searched and settled on some hybrid of them all. The low rise boxer brief. A imalgimation of all under-types. It was a very comfortable experience after that. But…I still did want to scream at the top of my lungs like Russell Crowe in Gladiator where he says “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?!” My exclamation would have been a bit different though screaming “HAVE YOU NOT REGULAR UNDIES!?!”
Cash In With Cash Cab Giveaway
I am headed back to my fave city in the world, New York City, this next week for BlogHer ’12 and MAN… wouldn’t it be nice to get into a certain cab that instead of you paying them…they pay you!
The funniest game show on TV, Cash Cab combines elements of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Family Feud and Candid Camera as taxi driver/comedian Ben Bailey picks up unsuspecting people hailing a cab and gives them a chance to win thousands. To find out where Cash Cab is playing in your area, visit http://cashcab.mgm.com.
Cash In With CASH CAB! Enter to win a Visa Gift Card!
Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive:
- $50 Visa Cash Card
How to Enter
Tell me if you have or have not ridden in a cab.
Extra Entries Available
After you have completed the first entry, you are eligible for additional entries. Make sure you leave a separate comment for EACH entry. Each counts as one extra entry unless noted otherwise.
- Subscribe to Daddy Digest by reader or email.
- Like me on my Facebook Fan Page.
- Follow Daddy Digest on Twitter AND Tweet about the giveaway. Leave the URL to the Tweet in your comment. You can tweet once a day, but remember to leave the URL to each tweet.
This giveaway will end on August 8th at 10:00 PM Central time. Winner will be chosen via a random number generator. Giveaway is open to US entries. Prizing courtesy of MGM. The winner must contact me in 24 hours to claim their prize. Good luck to everyone!
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. I have been given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions in any freakin’ way.
The Amazing Spider-Man: The “Reel” Low-down
Hello true believers! I am Danny G a 40 year old father of 3 girls who loves everything related to sci-fi and comic books. Growing up as an inner city kid in Houston, I would ride my bike to the local 7-11 convenience store to buy a Coke Slurpee and my favorite comic book, The Amazing Spider-man! Through the years, Marvel would fascinate us readers with many different variations of Spider-man comics. Peter Parker the Spectacular, The Web of Spider-man, Spider-man 2099 are a few of my favorites. With that being said, I am going to give you the “reel low-down” on the 2012 movie release of The Amazing Spider-man.
The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
The movie follows the original story line of Spider-man much closer and more detailed than its predecessors. It is not a re-make of the original, but instead a different view point from another director’s perspective, very similar to the comic books I mentioned above, same characters, just different story lines. Our hero goes through many of the same things as before, such as being bullied, the infamous spider bite, and of course the death of his Uncle Ben. How it all goes down and the way it is delivered in the movie, is what separates this movie from being Spider-man to being The Amazing Spider-man!
From the moment my wife and I sat down with our popcorn, M&M’s and Reese’s peanut butter cups, we were “reeled” in as the movie took off and never looked back. We opted to view it in 3D and that was the best decision because the imagery and scenes were made for 3D. We dodged and leaned as the images popped off the screen at us so vivid, we were immersed in the story. And it is the story portrayed in this movie that makes it one of the better Spiderman movies made. You learn more about Peter Parker’s parents and why he was so smart. You see him build his web shooters and make his spidey-suit out of realistic materials. He is also more agile and uses his spidey-sense more often than before. What’s a hero without a nemesis? Least we forget about the villain in this movie, who was extremely well portrayed, the Lizard. The battle scenes are intense, realistic and action packed. They will leave you on the edge of your seat as the3-D images fly towards you and the scenes grab and compel you to cheer on your hero!
All in all, whether you are a new fan or an old fan like me, you will be amazed by the Amazing Spider-man! Until next time true believers, I will keep watching the reels, in order to give you the “reel low-down.”
Danny G
Vacation Times Ahead
Ah, travel. Summertime is one of the most busiest times of the year for travel. Kids are out of school, vacations get underway, and gas prices rise slightly. With my job I have to schedule the next years vacation the previous year in November. Are you confused? Well let me break it down for you.
Every November I choose my weeks of vacation for the following year. This leads to a very stressful couple of weeks before trying to figure out what weeks I have (want) to take. Another bad thing is that it is all done by seniority. So, the guy thats been there 32 years will most definitely get his preferred weeks while I would have to wait until my choosing time rolls around. I’m not complaining though I usually do get the weeks that I want. It could be worse though, I could end up not getting any vacations at all. But it does make it very stressful, especially if there is a week that I really really want and someone or several someone’s have already chosen that week. Having my vacations done like this has pretty much always worked out for the almost decade that I’ve been with this company.
I just got back from a weekend trip to New York City with my three kids and my in-laws. I knew that I was going to experience the city in August with my wife Crystal but I had an opportunity to take a quick trip a little earlier in the calendar. I really would love to again one day even after my upcoming August trip to be able to experience the city during Christmas time or any turkey holidays (because most of the holidays revolve around the commencement of us gorging on these birds around the last third of the year) so that I can see this magical city in…from what I hear…one of it’s most magical and alluring times.
Having to plan such a big getaway in such a small amount of time…..my nerves got a bit rattled. Questions arose. What do I do if I forgot stuff? What happens if we lose our luggage? I relaxed though and felt better when my kids reassured me that we could just go to the store and buy everything all over again. They have all of the answers.
Winners!
The Doctor Smith’s Giveaway has ended and the winners are….
Grand Prize:
#46 John Billiris!
Two runner-ups!
#12 Mami2jcn
#30 Elena
Thank you to all that entered! Winners have 24 hours to respond or I pick again!
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