This is the second time I had the pleasure of speaking with Mark Steines for the My Life of Dad series. Mark and his co-host, Cristina Ferrare have been doing their show, Home & Family on The Hallmark Channel for a few years now. The Home & Family is that perfect mix of celebrity interviews, do-it-yourself home instructions and family fun that has allowed the show to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Program.
Mark is also known for his more than 17 years on Entertainment Tonight. Steines established a mentorship program with his alma mater, equipping students with the tools necessary to successfully transition from the classroom to a career. An avid hands-on do-it-yourself guy, Steines enjoys spending his free time fixing, remodeling and restoring all things in disrepair. He resides in Los Angeles, California with his two sons and their golden retriever Fred.
Mark and I talk about DIY projects, acting, hosting the Rose Parade next year, and fatherhood.
Art Eddy: It is great to be able to chat with you again. You do many DIY projects. You know the ins and outs of what to do and what not to do. What is the number one piece of advice you would give to someone starting their own project?
Mark Steines: I look at it like this. Some people will think of this as a bit of a stretch as I say that this is a metaphor for life. I think that any project that you work on and I teach this to my kids is that everything starts in your mind. It starts with an imagination. Once you get that taken care of you build off of that. It usually goes in the manner of being the least expensive. I can change my mind all day long. It won’t cost me a dime.
Once I put it on paper is when I have to fabricate this. So what does it look like in my mind and my imagination? So now you go to the next step. This is just part of life. It all starts with an idea and a concept. Then it goes to paper. You study it from all different sides. You start to ask all these questions. Then you go to the fabrication stage where you begin to build.
That is such a life process for anything. Whether you are planning your finances, your family, it all starts with your imagination. That is what I encourage my kids to do. Always seek your imagination and begin to see what the mind’s eye has. That is sort of the way I teach these things to my kids.
AE: You are also taking over for Bob Eubanks as host of the annual Rose Parade. Congratulations on getting that hosting gig. Tell me what you are looking forward to the most as the host of the Rose Parade.
MS: First of all I am working with Leeza Gibbons. Our paths crossed before on Entertainment Tonight. We really didn’t work side by side. So I am really looking forward to sitting down with such a consummate pro. I will need to step up my game because she is just wonderful.
It is like you said though. We grew up watching this. To become part of something that is the fabric of America is a huge responsibility. I don’t take that lightly. I already started the process of learning the different roses. It is roses and horses essentially. As much as it is fun and I will become sort of the background of that day for everybody, I take it very seriously. It is something that is Americana through and though. It is such an honor to be a part of.
AE: You have also has guest starred on television shows such as CSI: NY, The Practice, and Handy Manny. Is there a show you would love to guest star on?
MS: Our family enjoys Big Bang Theory. I couldn’t hang on that show. Those guys are way above my pay grade. Their comedy is brilliant. The writing is wonderful. You know what I would love to do? This is actually from my journalism background. I am a Dateline junkie. I will watch those shows. I love the storytelling aspect of it. That build of anticipation and how they research and how they find these people who have committed these heinous crimes. I am always surprised and intrigued by who snaps. It is not always the guys that you would think. It is normal people that you go, ‘Wow, what happened?’
Those stories are always intriguing to me. I think that is the fascinating part. On the light level it would have to be The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon rocks. In fact we are going to go see a taping.
AE: Switching to fatherhood now what is the biggest difference from the time you were growing up to now as your sons are growing up?
MS: When we were kids we would go out into the wilderness. We would go out and build tree forts. We would go out and play until we had so many ticks on us that our mom would have a heart attack. (Both laugh.)
Now it is me trying to get my kids out of their bedroom. They are playing their video games so much. We were discussing how technology like iPads this and iPads that. I told them that I learned to read on the back of a cereal box. You would set the cereal box there and you would read the back of a Lucky Charms cereal box. That was our iPad, but now things have transformed for better or for worse.
There is a lot of technology out there that is really great, but at times it gets sort of addicting that my kids don’t think of anything else that they want to do. That is the problem. You really have to force them off of those things. In L.A. that is hard because you can’t say go out and play. There is not a lot of room. It is just playing in the street.
AE: You have a busy career. How do you balance work and family? 
MS: That is a tough one. These are great questions. We are actually discussing this on the show. I try to balance things as best as I can. It is not with the quantity of time, but the quality of time that I spend with my kids. Recently we were sitting around the table and chatting the other night. My son was challenging me. He said, ‘You don’t even know the kind of music that I listen to.’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t.’ I found out he is in to Dubstep. So I started looking into that.
I told him that I had an epiphany the other day that my parents used to do this to me all the time. They would say, ‘Oh, I don’t know what these kids are into these days.’ It was looking down the nose of what kids are into. I don’t want to be caught up in that. This is my kids’ generation. It is what they do. I need to be interested in that. That to me is what the balance is.
The other attitude that I grew up with kind of separated you from them versus asking them what they are into. What is Dubstep? We looked it up. We talked about the syncopated beat and what it means. My son studied piano for many years so we talked about that. He felt that I was truly interested in it rather than oh those crazy kids, what are they doing now?
That to me is how you really find a balance. You close that generational gap. They are clearly into stuff that I am not, but I need to be.
AE: What advice do you have for new dads out there?
MS: Just talked to one of our producers here. She is going to be a mom in a few months. My advice is to take a million pictures. My son is going from eighth grade into high school this year. The school asked us to write a letter to him and shine a light on all of his talents and the gifts that he graced us as a family.
Just sitting there and writing a letter first of all is such a great practice to have. I would say take plenty of pictures. I did this very early when my sons were going to school. I sat them down in front of a camera and I interviewed them about their first day of school. They were small. They didn’t get it. Whatever. In sixth grade I brought Kai back and showed him that video. I sat him down and interviewed him again. I asked him what he would want to tell himself now that he didn’t know then. It doesn’t take long. You get the big picture and you have that stuff forever. Even hearing his voice change I would say take video as well as pictures.
I know this is going to date me, but from a technology standpoint we never had an iPhone we could use at a moment’s notice. You can say here talk into this. We had to rent a camera from Best Buy and be able to get that on a VHS tape. Now you can do it. It is so easy. There are no excuses. That would be 
my advice. It would be to document their childhood.
Life of Dad Quick Five
AE: What is your favorite family movie that you guys like to watch together?
MS: Not really. I recorded Crimson Tide with Denzel Washington. My kids are interested in these big picture sort of things. Just that idea of what if. So we are into stuff like that. That is one sitting on the DVR waiting for us to watch as a family.
AE: Do you guys have a favorite song that you all like to dance to?
MS: We don’t really have one song. My son loves to get on the piano. He plays Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. He only knows a part of it so I feel like it is on a loop in our house. (Both laugh.)
AE: Describe the perfect family vacation.
MS: Hawaii. We have been there before and we love it.
AE: One of your hobbies is photography. Is there one place you would love to go to photograph?
MS: I am exploring underwater photography right now. I would like to do something Caribbean. Otherwise I have some friends that live in Rio de Janeiro. I have been there before. It is far away, but it would be fun to go back to that part of the country.
AE: You have won three Emmy Awards. Does one rank more over the others?
MS: No, I really don’t. Everyone is unique in its own nature. They all mark a passage of time for me. The greatest accomplishment is becoming a father. Kai came first. With that came some anxiety. With the second one, Avery I learned that you don’t have to split love in half. It actually doubles when you have another child. That was one of the greatest lessons I ever had.
Go to www.marksteines.com and follow Mark on Twitter @MarkSteines