After reading so many other blog posts about families getting sick for the holidays, I had to go and jump on the bandwagon for Christmas Day.
Yep, that's right. I'm a sellout, just like the rest of you stricken bloggers, complete with the sinusoidal bomb that went off in my head. I've even got the anything-but-clear mucous remnants to prove it. read more »
My daughter came home from school with her Christmas wish list yesterday.
At this rate, she'll be a luddite (like her dad) in no time.
Honestly. Why would I want to read about this person? She's not even a celebrity - she's the sister of a celebrity. So who cares if she's pregnant.
Just another person who would negatively influence my children, if I allowed them to watch cable TV and follow this kind of drivel. read more »
Ever since I was a kid, I never understood the Holiday Inn phenomenon. What was with those crazy signs, and why were they called the "Holiday" Inn?
It wasn't until I was much older that I learned how people in the UK use the word holiday synonymously with the word vacation. When they say that they are going "on holiday", they mean that they are going on vacation. Still haven't figured out those signs, though. read more »
Much to her delight, I decided to stop by the elementary school and have lunch with my daughter last week. I wasn't even aware that this was a possibility until my wife (a substitute teacher) told me how many other parents do it. read more »
We managed to get about 90% of our Christmas shopping done yesterday at Wal-Mart. (Hooray!) So what the heck was I doing there again today? Well, it so happens that we're running very late on just about everything involving the holidays, and I had a last minute photograph of the kids that I needed to get thirty copies of (for our Christmas cards that probably won't arrive on time).
Was my experience a joy compared to my earlier fiasco at McDonald's? Is any trip to Wal-Mart a "joy"? read more »
We had lunch at McDonald's today and as usual my son was more interested in dissecting his chicken sandwich than eating it. I wish they'd put some McNuggets back on the dollar menu. It's not like they're real chicken anyways. After rationing off my french fries to choosyboy one-by-one as rewards for each bite he took of his sandwich, we were heading out the door and he decided that he had to pee. Fun. read more »
My wife gets occasional substitute teaching gigs at the local elementary school. When she does, I'm taking care of Choosyboy and trying to run my business at the same time. It doesn't always work out, and I often have to supplement the day's activities with some night work after the kids have gone to bed. But there are a few sure-fire ways to clear the path for short bursts of solid production, even with my three-year-old in tow. read more »
You can thank the Undomestic Diva for this one, as she has tagged me to provide 12 random Christmas-related facts about myself. Since Christmas isn't exactly my favorite holiday, this may be difficult. But here goes...
1. We're having our own little family Christmas this year, instead of braving the ice and snowy roads or pillaging our bank account with airfare costs to visit relatives.
2. Our relatives are *not* happy about it. read more »
Down the hall and two rooms away, I hear the sound of my daughter's bed rhythmically squeaking. If she were sixteen years old, I'd be storming down the hall to kick the SOB she was dating out of my home. But I've got ten years (hopefully more!) to prepare for that possible scenario. For this current dilemma, it sounds like I'm going to have to yet again relay the tragic story about monkeys jumping on the bed to her and her brother. read more »
I was thinking more about my son's sudden grasp of potty training and I suspect that some of our previous roadblocks had to do with the terminology we were using with him. For the longest time, Choosyboy would react to our frustrations by describing his aversion to "the potty train." We figured that our son believed that there was actually a locomotive...or some sort of special train ride waiting for him in the bathroom. At the time, we thought it was cute and didn't correct him. read more »
My son has officially been potty trained for four days now. He turned three several months ago and we had been getting those offhand comments from relatives about how young their children were when they were potty trained. But we had made a decision to follow the old adage that the child will learn to go when he is ready, and that trying to force him into it will only cause trouble. read more »
My son calls him Winnie Nut Pooh, making him sound more like a cereal bar than a storybook character. This bear has been around for some time now; we grew up with him. He never seems to age, and yet he talks like a road-weary defeatist. Several years ago, he was diagnosed with ADHD by several developmental specialists, and according to their abstract, his hundred acre wood neighbors are no bastions of sound mind, either. read more »
My wife and I are old-fashioned. At least, that's what some of our friends tell us, because we insist that our children refer to adults as Mister or Miss so-and-so. This was a tradition in the South where we both grew up, and we believe that it denotes respect for one's elders. But when I relocated to Colorado at the age of twelve, I noticed that the other kids called adults by their first names without any formal title. In fact, many of them even called our teachers in school by their first name, which was a shock to me. read more »
As I detailed in my last post, we had a great evening last night with some new non-parent friends. They are new to our town and don't know too many locals, so I suspect that they were starved for discussion about as much as we were. They ended up staying late, past midnight, as we regaled our thoughts on politics, religion, family, government and more. In general, these types of discussions usually fall flat when the kids are acting up in the background. read more »
The kids were in rare form last night. They weren't fighting (much) and they were polite and quiet. We had invited some new friends over for dinner - friends without kids - and our children seemed intent on keeping everyone in good spirits. Aside from a bit of harmless attention whoring between choosyboy and choosygirl, the night went smoother than we could have planned. Choosygirl even put herself to bed and called for us to tuck her in. read more »
The other day I caught myself saying something that I never thought I would say: "I'm going to go take my shower," I casually remarked to my wife.
I could hardly believe the words that had just escaped my lips.
My shower? read more »
One of my kids' favorite digital animated movies is The Incredibles. It ranks right up there with Monsters Inc. and Cars. My three-year-old son, who henceforth will be referred to as choosyboy, excitedly called me into the playroom yesterday so that I could see the "chocolate guy" on TV. read more »
When I was twelve years old, my parents moved our family from New Orleans to Denver. It was a very difficult adjustment for me. All of my relatives remained in New Orleans, and I experienced a very rough transition from a private catholic high school to a public junior high school. As if that wasn't enough, my parents moved us in the middle of the school year. read more »