Why FDR Quotes Won't Work on 8 year olds...

So Viv has been dealing with some issues surrounding a scary movie she saw. Coraline completely freaked her out. To explain further would require another Blog post... so I will save that for another day.

Since tonight was my 5th or 6th night explaining that everything is just fine and there is nothing to worry about, I decided to pull out the Old FDR Line" You have nothing to fear, except fear itself".

Thinking I was quite the sage of wisdom for pulling out such an appropirately timed line, I followed up by asking Vivian if she understood what that meant.

Nodding fervently, the following monologue ensued:
"Yes, I do. The other day I saw this movie Space Chimp, and there is this other world in outer space, where people have to wear helmets. And they all do the same stuff. Well, the helmet lights up if someone is scared, or something like that. So they go into this cave, where there is a scary monster, and this girl is wearing this helmet, she's really scared so it keeps lighting up. Well eventually this monster eats her, cause she is so scared, it finds her. Later, she comes back, and the other people were like 'oh, I thought you got eaten up' and she was like 'I was, you don't even want to know how I got out'. She came out the rear end of the moster, Mommy."

Winston Churchill ...
Space Chimps ...
Aliens ...
Space Monsters ...
Space Monster Poop.

Little did Vivian know that Franklin D Roosevelt was turning over in his grave.

Conversations with the 4 year old.

M (Mom): Christian stop pulling down on the front of my shirt.
C (Christian): Mommy what's that thingy?
M: What thingy? My bra? People don't want to see my bra, it's like underwear, so don't pull on my shirt.
C: Underwear?! Ew gross... Mommy, why is your bra made out of underwear?
M: It's not made out of underwear, it IS underwear. I wear it under my clothes.
C: Why Mommy? To hide your nipples?
M: Uh...
C: It's ok Mommy, I'm an expert of nipples
[End of conversation]

Let your kids be heard!

Interactive technology is always fun, especially when it's something I could introduce to the kids and let them run with it.

One great example, which had Vivian occupied for a good hour, was Zefrank's voice driven drawing tool.

It's a little flash application that allows you to control a brush with sound. A low volume sound guides the cursor counterclockwise; a medium-volume will straighten the line; and, a high volume sound will lead the cursor clockwise. It's actually kinda neat.

Eventually the whole family was howling at the computer trying to do our own vocal etch-a-sketch-like artwork.

Here's Vivian's masterpiece as it developed.

Here's a result of playing Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" to the tool.

You know, if you don't know Frank, you're missing out.

Follow him at http://twitter.com/zefrank and visit his site often for some happy distractions.

No boys [g]irls only

Denied!
Originally uploaded by Knight Diver

It's a common phenomenon, I'm sure, boys wanting access to where the girls are, etc. And, I *KNOW* it gets worse as they get older.

This picture is of Pxian outside of Vivian's bedroom, the morning after Viv's first sleepover.

I told him, it's something he had to get used to. His disappointment quickly dissipated once we proceeded to go downstairs to make breakfast and watch Saturday morning cartoons.

Happy Earth Day

Vivian singing

Technorati Tags: Earth Day,Kids,Singing

How to Expand Ivory Soap - wikiHow

This looks like a fun activity to do with the kids.

How to Expand Ivory Soap - wikiHow

Snowball needs a new toy...

Technorati Tags: pets,fetch,fetchbot 9000

Snowball

So, things with Vivian's birthday gift fell into place.  We adopted an American Eskimo puppy about two weeks ago, and let me tell you...  he's like a third kid.  Except, he enjoys being in a crate and whines much less...

The human kids enjoy the crate as well, but children services won't let me keep them in there while I'm out of the house.  Sigh...

Technorati Tags: American Eskimo,Kids

Jelly versus Jam

In case you didn't know, there is a difference between Jelly and Jam...  You know the difference?

Jelly is made from the fruit juice.  While, jam is made from both the fruit and juice.

At least that's what I've been told.  Interested in reading more? 

Go here.

So, why the blog of fruit preserves?  No reason...  it's just that we finished making the kids lunches for tomorrow and it consisted of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches.

Doesn't that sound yummy?  This kids think so, and that's all the matters.

Almost there...

Kids grow up quickly and suddenly... one moment they are babbling, helpless, little bundles of drool, the next moment they are miniature people with opinions, their own set of likes and dislikes and they can communicate.  It is quite a miracle.

Here's another thing that amazes me. 

For the past seven years, we've had to purchase diapers.  This is from the time my daughter was born up to now. 

Seven years!

Seven years of buying poop and pee-pee collectors, in all of Pamper' different varieties:  Toddlers, Cruisers, Trainers, Swimmers. 

On only a couple of occasions, two different sizes.

I do have to say that we were lucky that diaper purchase for Vivian and Christian overlapped for a little over a month. 

I remember the time when we decided to stop buying Vivian diapers.  This period of time also coincided with us trying to get here in to a "no diaper" zoned pre-school.  We flat out told her:

We are not buying you any more diapers, you're a big girl and you know how to go to the potty and you need to go to school.

And, it worked. 

So, why am I blogging about this now?  Well...  these past couple of days, my son has been keeping his night time trainers dry!

I don't know if I'm happier b/c I can confirm the fact that my son is not going to be in diapers throughout High School and College, or that we're getting rid of another monthly expenditure.  (Yes, there was some celebration when we no longer had to buy baby food and formula)

Light at the End of the Tunnel...  here we come!

Superstores!

There's something to be said about the conveniences made available to us with the creation of these large department superstores.  Wal-Mart, Meijer's, Target are all doing it.  Now a days, you can pick up some home items, clothing for the kids and this weeks grocery all in one place.  How great is that?

Furthermore, prices are so cheap, it's almost ridiculous to go somewhere else to purchase things.  Especially when it comes to kid's clothing or toys.  So, as a parent always watching how money is spent, I really have no choice.

Along with the good, there's always the bad.  Wal-Marts has always had a bad reputation of treating their employees like crap.  As well as roughing up manufacturers in selling items in bulk way below acceptable margins.  There are also numerous problems brought to communities and their small businesses when a superstore takes root in their area.

But, the one thing that gets me...  the biggest gripe I have is how large these places are.  And, consequently how it never fails that once we get to the farther point from the closest restroom my boy has to "go potty."

UGH!

Technorati Tags: children,wal-mart

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...

As a father who has two very active kids, I have built over 50 GB of pictures of the things we do. 

It's just so easy when you have a subjects like these:

I take pictures, it's what I do.

Technorati Tags: Children,Photography

Viv's Daily Workout Schedule

Aside from the normal activities my 6-yr old loved to do, she's starting to do a daily routine of working out to keep in shape. 

This is more so for her to build up her core for gymnastics.  Here's a small glimpse of what she does.

Mon

5 minutes stretching
12 - push-ups
12 - sit-ups

Tue

1 hours at the gymnastics

Wed

5 minutes stretching
12 - push-ups
12 - sit-ups

Thr

1 hours at the gymnastics

Fri

5 minutes stretching
12 - push-ups 
12 - sit-ups

Sat

5 minutes stretching
12 - push-ups
12 - sit-ups

Sun

Rest

Technorati Tags: health and fitness,children

No, we did not get a dog.

Vivian's been wanting a puppy for as long as I can remember...

I wouldn't mind getting a puppy either, we're just not ready for it.

However, if we did get a dog, we'd probably get an American Eskimo.

They look like this, when they're older... 

I'd name him/her Snowball.   

Reactive Parenting

There are two types of parenting when it comes to raising children.  Proactive and Reactive.  The proactive parent is involved and aware, cognizant of what the child is doing, setting guidelines and using discipline to teach the child what is right and wrong.  The reactive parent is also aware but let's the child experiment in an somewhat open arena, leaving the child to learn from his mistakes and deal with the ramifications that are involved.

Now, in order to be an effective parent, you do have to be a combination of both.  Finding a balance between the two is THE challenge.  However, to be an extreme in either category is NOT a good thing.  And, being a dad that's constantly on the move with the kids, it's easy to see fall into the "reactive" category, which I thought I did *A LOT*.

Until yesterday.

Taking the kids to their activities, I have a lot of opportunities to watch other parents. 

Yesterday,  I realized something about reactive parenting.   Some reactive parents give their children too much extended freedom.  Basically, whatever consequences come from the child's action is supposed to teach the child proper and appropriate behavior, regardless of how it effects the environment or others. 

To illustrate, I ask - is it my responsibility to tell another person's child that they should be using their "inside" voices?  Especially,  when it is obvious to all the other parents that he's distracting and behaving inappropriately.  It's also apparent that other parents are reluctant to over step their bounds.  So, am I the consequence that the child is supposed to learn from or do I remove my children from the situation and let the kid continue on?

I see two problems with the reactive approach.  The first, what and from whom does the child really learn?  Did he actually learn that he should be quiet and stop horsing around in order to respect other people's space?  I don't think so... from the kid's reaction, he learned that I'm a mean guy who ruins all his fun.  His real parent didn't stop him, the other parents were too passive, and I'm a complete stranger...  I have no leverage to teach this boy much.

The second problem is that the parent ends up having to deal with the consequences of the kids' consequences.  In my case, the boy's parent had to deal with the embarrassing situation of another parent, namely me, appropriately disciplining  their child.  It must be easier to say "sorry" to a stranger, than to say "no" to your child.

Where does the line get drawn between being a reactive parent versus a lazy parent?

Sher and I prefer the more proactive approach of consistent discipline.  It was not so much a conscious choice, but rather something that make sense to us and came naturally.  We find comfort in knowing that when we do give our kids the freedom to learn from their environment that our kids will not stick their hand on the stove, not because they've done it before and learned that fire is hot, but because we taught them that the fire can harm them.

Technorati Tags: parenting,discipline,children,reactive parenting

Meaning of Life

An unfortunate person is one who tries to fart but shits instead. A miserable person is one who truly enjoys a fart but can't.

I would really like to pretend that I know the meaning of life, and that I have all the answers. And there is a pressure to show your children that you do know everything that is astoundingly strong. But the truth is that there is no answer for any of it. You just make the best of what you have been given. That's it. Everyday get a little bit better at determining the best path for your life. Sure you are going to make bad decisions and mistakes, knowing how to make reparations for those mistakes is what will get you through the end of each day.

There are days when I put my kids down to bed at night, when I just want to "get it done quickly", pushing them to brush their teeth, don their pjs, and pop into bed quietly. It very rarely goes this smoothly. Rush, rush rush. There is often just as much frustration in the "getting them to bed" mode as in the "getting them up and ready for school mode". It is just the way it is.

I find that I have to constantly remind myself, that these are the times that I am going to look back on when I am 80 years olds and in my rocker. I will not get a second chance at enjoying their childhood, this is it - right now, and it will be gone before I know it.

So, I take a deep breath, smell their hair, their smooth skin on their cheeks, look into their innocent eyes and just love them for who they are right now. My beautiful kids, with all the perfections and imperfections of life, they are gifts bestowed to me, and I cherish them.