Well I’ve been without an ISP for about a week and a half. Let me tell you…it SUCKS! It’s a short story that I am not going to tell, but my account was shutoff. So I’m in the process of switching to a new ISP and should be back up and running by the weekend.
I’m connecting from free WiFi locations or over a slow dialup connection. Did I say This Sucks??
Ok so WTF is wrong with winter coats?
Nothing in my mind. Nothing in my wife’s mind….but ask a four year old and they’ll probably say, “I don’t like it!” or “ewwww yucky” and lay on the floor and kick and scream. Ok, maybe our son doesn’t quite do the full meltdown (sometimes it’s close) but he sure has a few choice words for his new winter coat! Oh and guess what…there is NO other reason for why he doesn’t like it. It just is! They don’t like it.
And I know this IS NOT just a freakish behavior of our son — at least 3 other parents are saying the same thing about their kids.
Is it being afraid of transition? Probably…I searched online for some ideas
this one…haha, yeah right.
You are the parent and what you say should be the LAST word -no compromise- NOTHING. I pick my battles but wearing a coat in the winter out in the cold is a must. I hate making DS kick and scream and fight me but I am the parent and he MUST listen!
That is one crazy battle to pick!
This seems more my speed…
I let her go without a coat. When she got cold I explained the coat would make her warm and she put it on.
So that is that…Oh and for the first time parents out there…this stuff happens at the change of each season, at time changes, or whenever the Hell the kid says so. Just when we have the winter coat on and all bundled up — Spring will be here and time for a lightweight jacket…“ewwww lightweight jacket”….then comes summer and shorts, but wait…”I’ve been wearing pants since October!!! I can’t wear shorts now!!” Yes parents, that will happen. Trust me! Unless you live in someplace like San Diego with a 5 degree fluctuation in temperature all year you will be in for these ‘special treats’.
Grin and bear it. I try to do!
(image from http://mikeboldt.blogspot.com/)
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Sorry for not posting for a long time! Click image for larger view.
Over at Happy Healthy Hip Parenting blog, authored by Sondra Santos LaBrie, has started up a new series on What Makes a Happy Healthy Hip Parent. She is doing this to highlight parents that she has met mainly on the net, via blogs or Twitter. Also, I filled out the questionaire as a daddy blogger so soon I’ll be featured. I’ll post a link when that happens.
Why is Sondra doing this:
I look forward to sharing their stories and giving props to parents who raise happy, healthy, hip kids – one of the most rewarding jobs you could ever have.
Here are a few links and blurbs from her first two HHH Parents:
Meet Tracy and find out What Makes Her a HHH Parent
Facebook has brought me face-to-face with several high school classmates since joining, including Tracy, mother of two. Her son will be turn four in less than a month and her daughter just recently reached her six-month milestone.
Meet Laurel to see why she is a HHH Parent
You may know Laurel from the books she’s authored: Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains, Inside the Slidy Diner, The Myth of the Single Machines, Half Life, and Daphne and Jim.
Happy Healthy Hip Parenting was founded by Sondra Santos LaBrie.
Ms. LaBrie is a Certified Parent Educator through the International Network for Children and Families with a background in psychology and communication.
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Today was great. I took my 4 year old son, Lo, to see his first real movie in a theater! We went to see Madagascar 2. It was Guys Day Out as we also had my Dad, “Papa” join us. Lo was so excited from the time my wife and I told him he would be going to see the movie. He couldn’t wait to get there.
It was 9:45am when we told him and the movie didn’t start until 11:45am. We couldn’t make the 10:20 which would have been perfect. We had to stop and pick up Papa first. Since we had some time to kill, Lo and I went into my parent’s house and hung out for a bit and my son explained Madagascar to Papa so he would know what was going on. Lo is a pro with movies…DVD movies that is. He’s seen the first Madagascar movie enough times to almost have memorized it. He’s also a fan of the Ice Age movies…memorizing those as well.
So we were back on the road a little before 11 and heading to Wegmans to grab a quick lunch since it’s right next to the Regal Cinemas. We had a few slices of pizza — I had to scrape the sauce (as best I could) off Lo’s slice. He has some aversion to sauce on his pizza.
Lo was so excited once we got to the parking lot! Like REALLY excited, it was cute to see his reactions along the way. Once we got in line for tickets i knew he needed to go potty. Papa and Lo proceeded to the restroom while I stood inline waiting for the tickets.
Lo’s eyes lit up again once we got into the specific theater and the previews started. Of course, he didn’t care for all the previews! Neither did I.
But to keep this short, we had a very good time bonding and seeing a great movie. One thing I remember him saying about the whole experience was
they have those ‘magic chairs’! The ones you can bend down and sit in.
If you haven’t gone to see the movie yet, you should go see it soon. It’s hysterical! Here’s a little clip (found on http://madagascar-2-trailer.blogspot.com)
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Before I came downstairs to work on a few web site projects to earn us a little extra cash, my wife, Cathy, said, “Hey, you haven’t blogged in a quiet a while.” I was thinking the very same thing just yesterday. Sorry, I just haven’t found the ‘extra’ time to do so (if anyone has one of those fancy time stopping devices, please let me know.) I feel bad about not being able to write. I’ve missed it.
I’ve been trying to think up ways that I can post more stories and real life events that I deal with and hopefully can get back into the swing of things now that summer is long gone! I want to be able to share MORE about ME and what I SEE in my kids as they grow up.
Also…
I read a great post by Kim at Jogging in Circles just this evening that really inspired me to write this post. Read Kim’s Post about not being perfect.
I’m Not a Perfect Person, Either!
As Kim wrote in her post, “My life is not perfect. I do not live in an a fairy tale.” Well I don’t live in a fairy tale either. And I’m not perfect. And that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I can sit here and think about things that are going on right now and blog about them. Blogging makes me stop and think. The MORE I blog, the more I begin to actually change. I don’t want to yell at my kids anymore for the little things they do. I don’t want to argue with my loving wife either. I don’t want to drink beer or get that 60″ Plasma HDTV….wait, wrong post. But what I want to do is be a good daddy. I’m on my way to that….
What I Still Have to Accomplish!
Well I’ve done a lot of different things in my life; a lot of successes!
I learned to crawl, walk, “go potty” sitting down — then standing up, talk, read, write, ride a bike, play soccer, play the trumpet, drive a car, kiss girls, attend college, graduate from college, enjoy wine, travel, have a good career, get married, buy a home, enjoy cooking, watch the birth of our first son in 2004 (very proud Daddy moment). We then had baby #2 in 2006, another proud Daddy moment.
But I am still missing something.
Something that might make me close to being perfect…
Along the way, I don’t think I ever stopped to really enjoy having fun. I mean, I DO have fun, but sometimes it doesn’t come that easy. I feel like I can’t relax when playing with my kids because I’m afraid they might get hurt or something. I don’t know how to laugh out loud, especially when playing with my kids with my wife or parents present. That is probably my insecurities coming out.
But this past weekend my son Logan and I played roll-the-ball out on my parent’s patio and he made me actually laugh. It was a great moment for me! I mean, I was having a great time ROLLING A BALL!!
Once my wife arrived, the kids flock to her (like fruit flies on wine) and don’t let her take a breath. I try and “pull” them off her but they have this weird-clinging-sticky stuff on them that won’t let me pull them off!!It’s like elastic or something, Stretch Armstrong-like. I can pull them off for about 2 minutes and then “ssssnap” they cling back to her.
See, still not perfect, but I try!
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My Blogging Recipe
I started this post as part of another post and then my fingers started to type faster than I could think and all of a sudden I was caught writing again. Hey their folks, sorry for the absence from my blog. I’ve just been busy lately.
Anyway, not sure what this post is about, i think it’s just me typing words in a ‘recipe’ format as my mind thinks things up. Let me know what you think!
Daddy’s Toolbox Blog Recipe
Preheat: raise BP to 140/90
Time to cook: depends on elevation of whining, could be 1 min or 1 hour.
Foundation for Chaos
Toppings of Love
Begin with the foundation. Mix all ingredients to create chaos. Stir chaos in head for a day. Check consistancy, if still insane keep stirring. Look at stains and clean. When become numb to chaos begin adding toppings.
Add the toppings slowly as you don’t want to ruin anything. Begin with looking at the artwork that your kids made at daycare that day. Smile. Say, “WOW! that is great!” (and mean it!) Then go kiss kids and hug them, do the same with wife. Pinch her butt too for fun! (Smile again!) When you have a thick layer ‘o love spreading over the chaos make sure to keep things sane by relaxing every now and then with 30 minutes of yoga or mediation. Maybe even a blog post or two!
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A 12 yr old boy carving a wooden spoon at the Hay Creek Festival (www.haycreek.org)
Tags: photos, 365, wordless wednesday
Image via CrunchBase
So what do you think? Has Social Media sites and applications become a replacement for TV? To me they have. First of all there isn’t anything really worthwhile to watch on television anymore, especially after last seasons strike and the fact that all of my favorite shows don’t start until February. With streaming videos on network websites, or finding short clips on YouTube, or watching favorite episodes on Hulu.com, they all allow us to not sit in front of the tv as much, or if at all.
I’m a pretty big user of Facebook and as of late, Twitter. I find the conversations on Twitter, called tweets, the 140 character message that is sent, entertaining and friendly. I’ve made some great contacts by using Twitter ( @jnbammer @McMommyBlog @DadofDivas @JoePrah @BuildingCamelot @Hip_M0M) and they are all awesome Mommy or Daddy bloggers as well. From Twitter I’ve added some of my Twitter contacts to my Facebook profile to continue the discussion and friendships.
Why do I use Facebook? Well I LOVE word games and making sure my dog is fed. I like to recieve a lot of “green plants”. No really, I use it to keep in touch with other parents and friends and learn that I’m not much different than everyone else. I’m a Dad, a parent, a husband, a son and a friend to many. I have a few blogs that I author and manage. I am a very social person, have always been that way. I think I find comfort in family and friends. (Also keeps me in tune with my emotions – I learned growing up that sharing my emotions is ok, even for a guy!)
Also, another reason I’m using a lot more social media sites is to increase my knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. I’ve taken a liking to the social aspect of the web and want to begin to understand them better. What better way than to use Facebook and Twitter as a “classroom”. I’ve already seen the power of social media with my company’s web site and blog, www.springhouse.com and blog.springhouse.com. I’ve been adding links to Mixx, Digg and StumbleUpon to help drive traffic to our site. I also use those social media sites to boost traffic to this blog, Daddy’s Toolbox. Every little bit helps!
So I know this isn’t really a daddy post but I haven’t had much time to post lately.
Tags: Facebook, Twitter, Social Media, parenting, Being a Dad
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