Last Christmas, it occurred to my wife that we should have two manger scenes: one the kids could interact with, and one that is kept looking nice. The child’s manger scene, in our case, is made of hard plastic. It consists of the manger, and plastic figures for all the participants. That’s quite a lot […]
Read MoreThis past weekend, we went with some friends to a local “snow mountain.” Don’t be fooled by the name. As grandiose as it sounds, this particular snow mountain was a pile of snow sitting in a fenced off section of a parking lot. As we’re in Florida, it was melting fairly quickly. They seemed to […]
Read MoreOf the two kids, N tends to be the “well-behaved” one. He does, however, present certain challenges. Lately we’ve been having a battle over him always needing to be carried. Having a child insist on being carried can be really problematical. Imagine trying to cook dinner, for example, while holding a playful 1 year old. […]
Read MoreC goes to pre-school three days a week. He’s the youngest in his class, but not the most well-behaved. In fact, just the other day J went in to visit with the principal. She had some stuff to drop off, but they were also going to talk about C’s latest transgression and why he was […]
Read More[Note for the non-parents out there: These days, "time-out" is pretty much the tool of choice for parenting. When given a time-out, the misbehaving child is sent to a corner where he or she must sit quietly for a period of time. After the time-out, you discuss why the child was in time-out and then […]
Read MoreNot too long ago, J and the kids met me at a hamburger place for lunch. I love it when they meet me for lunch. It gives me a nice break in the middle of the day, and I get to eat something other than Lean Cuisine. This time, the kids were in fine spirits […]
Read MoreBefore starting this little tale, I have to introduce you to one of Connor’s godmothers. Her name is Joan, but she goes by the title "Baran". Joan has roots in New Orleans, and the French for godmother is "marraine". C mispronounced this "Baran", and so that’s what we call Joan. We had J’s birthday party […]
Read MoreWhen you have dogs and kids, you develop some interesting dynamics. For example, the dogs frequently (and accidentally) knock them over. They (the dogs) are also always trying to steal food out of their hands. Of course, we discipline the dogs. However, it seems as though the kids translate us saying "No!" into "Go hit […]
Read MoreHave you ever seen a dad walking around with his infant son sitting in a harness that hangs from the dad’s shoulders? Those things are incredibly useful. For those that haven’t seen one, it’s a series of padded straps that go around your shoulders and waist. The child rides sitting upright with his back to […]
Read MoreEver wonder why parents seem to simply be resigned to accepting embarassing situations? Here’s another example. C has always enjoyed eating something called “fruit snacks”. Fruit snacks are a wonderful invention. They’re bits of jellied fruit that come in little foil packets. Kids love them – so you can use them as a bribe without […]
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