First a little background is necessary. The Barnes & Nobles (around here at any rate) have train tables set up in the kids’ area. This is a little table that is about 2 feet high and covered with little wooden trains. Most of the time, those trains are Thomas the Tank Engine trains. The engines […]
Read MoreAre you familiar with the concept of patient 0? Patient 0 is the person who starts the outbreak of a disease or some other problem. For example, if your kid were to catch the flu in Chicago and bring it back to Orlando to give it to all his classmates, he would be "patient 0". […]
Read MoreKeeping a talkative 1 year old quiet in church is one of the most complex challenges a parent can face. There’s no way to discipline a child during a church service. Despite what you may have seen, stern disapproving looks made by desperate parents really have no effect on a 1 year old. All you […]
Read MoreYesterday, C graduated from year 2 of his swim lessons! In commemoration of this fine event, I have a brief tale from year one. Because year 1’s swim lessons happened during the day, I didn’t get a chance to see how he was progressing. So one Saturday, we all went to the local swimming pool […]
Read MoreOnce C got old enough, J started working weekends (she is otherwise a stay-at-home mom). The first weekend that J left, I was hanging out with C (this was before N arrived), and he asked where mommy was. I said “She’s working.” He looked at me for a second, and then said “No…She’s shopping.” I […]
Read MoreBefore starting this one, it’s important to realize that C loves trains – all sorts of trains. For example, going to Disneyworld is simply a way of seeing different types of trains: the parking lot train (tram), the monorail trains, the indoor trains (the rides), the train around the park, and, of course, the "roller […]
Read MoreBelieve it or not, C goes to swim lessons. The idea is to give the little guys some basic survival skills in the water – so if they fall in a pool or a lake or something, they have a shot at surviving until someone notices. Sounds grim, doesn’t it? Well, it is. But the […]
Read MoreAs you may have guessed by now, C is what some people might call "willful". He wants to do what he wants to do, and he doesn’t want to be told "no". Of course, this makes it all the more important for us to say "no". In response, he developed all sorts of ways of […]
Read MoreTime Out is a difficult thing for both parents and kids. The idea is simple enough: you find a place in your house that is safe and relatively isolated. When the child is bad enough to warrant punishment, you put them in Time Out. This means they have to go sit in that place for […]
Read MoreThe other night was beautiful here, so we packed up dinner and went to the park to have a picnic. The park we go to has mulch covering the playground, however, and this is a problem. C likes to throw mulch when he’s Being Bad. So, we’re sitting on the blanket eating, and C decides […]
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